Pokémon Academy
by Royfeliciano
Summary: Welcome to The Viridian City Pokémon Academy, aka The Vird. It is a state of the art school for young men and women who will become leaders in the Pokémon world. The Academy is state of the art with four battle arenas, 16 lecture halls, a separate wing for technology and research development, 2 nurseries, and an opportunity to become a member of one of 14 exciting programs.
1. Chapter 1

Pokémon Academy

Introduction to Battle Techniques

Her room was a mess! An anxious and restless night for Jade meant her books didn't get any peace either. She shuffled her feet trying not to disturb the sleep of a pile of papers on Pokémon evolution written by the infamous Professor Oak. A large chest at the foot of the bed was her next victim. She kneeled down and tore through its contents looking for her binoculars. Behind her, an alarm clock begged for attention.

"Do-Tri-Oh!" called the clock. She sprung from her crouch like a stalking Persian, and silenced the clock with the speed of a Pidgeot's Quick attack. Jade didn't want to wake her parents, who had been running samples in the lab downstairs until late. A quick look in the mirror saw her short green hair was a mess, making her think of an Oddish bathing in sunlight.

Her priorities were stone in her mind as she packed a bag; binoculars, Kanto Pokémon' field guide, and her notebook. Her uniform, neat and never worn, laid perched on her desk chair over a pile of more books about Pokémon ecology and distribution.

She burst out of her house with the energy of a rampaging Tauros. It was still very dark out, and school wasn't for a few hours. She breathed in the cool morning air and then listened.

"Oooh!" she started to herself. "Doduo, 30 degrees… Maybe 80 meters away."

Jade knew the woods outside of Pallet town like the back of her hand. Early September marked migration season in her part of Kanto, so she knew some interesting migrants would be coming through. Her navy school blazer offered her little protection from the frosty autumn air, but she knew the day was going to warm up. She began to walk slowly, marking in her notebook all of the species that she saw. "13 Rattata, 14, 15… no wait, that's a Mankey!"

The sun lazily rose to her right, preparing for the day's work. She continued North towards Viridian City. This was her favorite part of the day. The forest felt more alive than ever as the first rays of sun breached through the canopy. She continued on the trail for non-Trainers, clear of the tall grass. Jade listened and watched as the blades of grass popped to life and shook off the morning dew. She approached her favorite part of the trail, where the Viridian City Lake could be seen from above the walking trail.

Looking out at the lake, Jade drew her binoculars. With her notebook at the ready, she began to list of species.

"About 0630 hours," she began saying to herself again as she scanned the shore. "Two Farfetch'd wading -one male and one female. 1 Pikachu drinking water. 4 Butterfree flying overhead…"

Jade's count was interrupted by a strange form sitting on the shore about a hundred meters away. The sun was to its back, but she could tell that it was not a Pokemon, but a boy wearing the same school uniform as her. He was also a student at Viridian City Pokemon Academy. He was sitting with his legs crossed on the grass before the lake fishing, with what appeared to be an old fishing rod. She couldn't get a really good look at him through her binoculars due to the glare of the sun rubbing the sleep from her eyes. But even sitting, she could tell that he was very tall. "Probably an upper-classman," she said to herself. He had long bluish-green hair that came down the sides of his face past his ears. He looked so at peace, and he reminded Jade of a Pokémon in its natural habitat.

His attention broke as a flock of Spearow started to crow from the direction behind Jade. He looked her way, and she realized what a creep she must have looked like with her binoculars on him. She pretended, in vain, to be looking at something in the distance, but she was busted. She put her binoculars behind her back, and waved an awkward and guilty wave.

"Time to run," she said as she skipped North towards school.

Jade got to school at a 7:15 a.m., and still had an hour before the first bell would ring. This wasn't her first time at Viridian City Pokémon Academy, known as The Vird for those in the know. Her parents worked for Professor Oak, and were very involved in the opening of the school.

The academy would be celebrating its fifth year anniversary this September. Jade approached the tall black gates embroidered with the Pokémon League Symbol; a backwards "L" with a Pokéball in the middle. The building was state of the art with four battle arenas, 16 lecture halls, a separate wing for technology and research development, 2 nurseries, and a beautiful long front lawn that made Jade think of the plains of the Safari Zone.

No matter how old she got, the school always looked so large and intimidating. She stood at the iron gates, and appreciated the greenest ivy strangling the metal and climbing upwards toward the sun. The gates were only slightly ajar, and she squeezed herself through the opening. She walked the path, followed by a triplet of curious Oddish. They sang behind her as she made her way to a large fountain engraved with the names of wealthy Vird alumni or parents.

Jade didn't know how much time had passed. Her head was buried in a field guide on water Pokémon as she tried to determine the genders and ages of the Goldeen splashing around the fountain. Her uniform was damp from the ledge of the fountain and the splashes of her new friends, but she didn't mind.

"Goldeen" the smaller Goldeen with the longer horn said.

"Yes -yes, I know. You are a Goldeen," she laughed to herself. Living in Pallet town, there weren't a lot of neighborhood kids her age. It was a small town mostly occupied by retirees. Without any siblings, she spent a lot of time playing with neighborhood Pokémon or older technicians at Prof. Oak's lab.

"Making friends I see?" a voice sounded from above her. She failed to notice that another student had made his way through the gates. She raised her head from her book.

"Excuse me?" Her eyes met the young student. With long blue-green hair, a Vird uniform, and an old fishing rod over his shoulder, it was the young man from the lake.

"Nothing, I didn't mean to interrupt your profound conversation," he mocked as he took a seat next to her on the fountain.

His name was Teal and he was also a first year at The Vird. He sat back on the fountain and reached his hand into the cool water. With a casual stroke, he smoothed his hair and stretched his neck.

"There's some mud on the ground behind the fountain if you want a more permanent hair-do," Jade joked back.

They made with the usual greetings. Where they were from, there favorite Pokémon, and favorite Pokémon trainers…

"Really? You like Gold over Red?" Jade laughed. "And let me guess, Erica is your favorite gym leader?"

"That's rich from someone who thinks Karen is the best Elite Four member!" he countered.

"Gold is so overrated!"

"So NOT! Look," Teal replied pulling out a binder from his bag. It was full of Trainer Cards. He went through the pages and Jade noticed that they were arranged by Region. He switched to the Johto pages and had a whole page of gold-foiled cards dedicated to the Pokémon Trainer Gold.

"You are such a nerd!"

"Shut up! Like you didn't have a Trainer Card Collection!"

"Well actually," Jade started and pulled out her wallet. Out of it she pulled out copy of the Rookie card for Pokémon Trainer Scarlet in a plastic card protector. Scarlet was a local hero. She grew up in Viridian City and attended the first ever graduating class of The Vird. She won the Pokémon League tournament in her first year and was favored to go all the way this year. Her card was silver-foiled and showed her powerhouse team of Pokémon, including her magnificent Blue-Flamed Rapidash.

"Shut up!" Teal exclaimed impressed.

"Yup."

"Do you know how much that card is worth?"

"Don't care. It is priceless to me!"

"Think she is gonna go all the way this year?"

"I don't know; the Johto League is pretty competitive this year."

"And she'll have to face your Karen if she wins the tournament..."

"I think I'd faint if that match up ever happened!"

The two of them laughed and joked on that fountain, going through Trainer cards and possible match ups. They hadn't even realized how much time had passed and the field was now full of Vird students.

"Ahem!" an interrupting cough brought them back to reality. It came from a beautiful girl with long cascading dark-red hair. Her name was Merlot, and she wielded a pair of piercing grey-blue eyes that captured and impaled all those that dared to meet them. They were wearing the same school uniform, but Jade might as well have been wearing sweats. Merlot's uniform accentuated every curve of her body and made Jade feel very self-conscience.

"Hey Merl, what's going on?" Teal said with a smile.

Merlot had both of her hands resting on her hips in a territorial stance. She spoke while making eye contact with Jade, holding her ground like a Rhyhorn about to charge.

"You were supposed to wait for me this morning Teal!" she said annoyed.

"Sorry, the weather was so beautiful I figured I'd hit the lake for a bit," Teal replied holding up his fishing rod.

"Well you're here now, _with me_ ," she said making sure to not break eye contact with Jade. Jade didn't know what to do. She tried to avoid the predator's eyes as much as she could, without yielding, meeting the girl's ears and nose and then eventually looking down.

"Hi. I'm Jade and I'm from…"

"Teal!" Merlot interrupted. "There are some guys I want you to meet."

A trio of grinning faces approached the fountain. The trio was led by a sharply dressed young man with purple hair named Indigo. His uniform was also the standard Vird navy uniform, except his jacket had golden buttons and had been embroidered with an intricate and beautiful design. Indigo was flanked on both sides by a young man and another young woman who made sure to always hang one step behind him.

"This is Indigo," Merlot started. "Our dads are family friends who used to train together."

"Sup," Teal nodded his head without much enthusiasm.

"Teal, it is very important to strategically choose our classmates," Merlot replied, obviously very annoyed. "The friends we make in school will be important on our journey. We will share information on the location of Hidden Machines, Gym battle strategies, and the locations of rare Pokémon."

Jade now felt very invisible and looked for any excuse to get away. "Hey Teal, Imma get going. Gonna, you know, prep for class."

"Yeah, I'll catch you later Jade."

Jade turned around and could feel Merlot's eyes between her shoulder blades. It was a difficult feeling to shake, even when she was out of eyesight, like the Intimidate Ability of a wild Ekans. She became very self-conscience again and straightened up her posture.

Jade found an empty table to sit at and pretended to take inventory of the items in her bag. Binoculars, Notebook, a few empty Pokeballs… She let out a defeated sigh but then realized she wasn't alone at the table. Jade heard the loud guitar solo to one of her favorite songs playing and looked to the right to see another young Vird student playing music through his headphones.

"I love The Iron Barbs!" Jade exclaimed to her classmate. "I saw them in Saffron this summer!"

She looked over and saw that the boy could not hear her. His face was glued to his laptop and his music was on way too loud through oversized headphones. He also appeared to be a first year student. He wore a brown hooded sweatshirt over his uniform and had straight dark brown hair creeping over his square framed glasses. He was round faced and looked much younger than his age, a difference made more noticeable by the difficult lines of code he was writing on his computer.

"Well, it was nice talking to you," she joked as the boy continued to ignore her.

The rest of the morning went by pretty unspectacularly. Every class had been a little bit of the same. Stale introductions, cheesy ice breakers, and reading of syllabi. Jade felt as if she was on autopilot for the entire day like a Pokémon using Sleep Talk.

"I am from Pallet Town… Sigh. I like Pokémon… Yawn," she found herself reciting the same typical lines. In each class Merlot attached to Teal like a Shellder on a Slowpoke. She yearned for the honest and effortless conversation she had with Teal this morning and was having a hard time connecting to any other students.

"Alright, now you will all be changing and going to Basic Battle Techniques," the History of Pokémon Professor said dismissing them.

Finally Battle Techniques! It was the one class that Jade had been looking forward to the most. She took a jog to the locker room and changed into her gym uniform.

"Hey," called a voice from above Jade as she tied her sneakers. "Jade right?"

It was Merlot again, joined by the female member of Indigo's entourage. Jade thought her name was Tangerine or something like that.

"Want to walk with us to Battle Techniques?"

Jade's first instinct was that it was a trap. She already painted Merlot as a territorial predator, and didn't want anything to do with her.

"I know I come off as very aggressive and fiery. It's in my blood. I'm really serious about being a Pokémon Trainer and Teal is one of my best friends. He is really quite special huh?"

"Umm… Yeah. Like, he's cool… and stuff."

"Haha! I knew you'd get it! He is such a deep and sensitive soul. You know he writes poetry and draws and I just always took it as my job to watch over him. Especially when it came to prospective girlfriends like you."

"Prospective what!"

"Haha! You are too cute Jade," she held out her hand. "Come, I know a shortcut to class."

The two of them walked arm in arm through the halls. The other girl skipped along behind them. Merlot released Jade's arm and spun on her heels with the grace of a dancing Dragonair.

"This way, it's a shortcut," she said reaching for a door.

"I can't wait for Battle Techniques. I heard that," Jade started but was interrupted by a shove on her back. She fell forward into the room and the door was shut behind her. She collided into unknown items in the dark as she fell, the rest of the closet's supply falling on top of her.

"HEY!" she screamed as she felt around in the dark broom closet. She tried the door but it wouldn't budge. "Let me out!"

Jade knocked and pushed at the door, but it was futile. She was locked in the closet and thought she would miss her first day of Battle Techniques. That was when she realized she wasn't alone in the closet.

"Grime! Grime-Grimer!"

"Oh great!"

Jade continued to push against the closet door as a very friendly Grimer continued to climb up her leg. Her uniform was now covered in… well grime! She started to get used to the smell of the over eager Pokémon who just wanted to be held.

"I know buddy. You were locked in here too," she said petting the Pokemon's head. "I'll get us out."

She continued to knock and scream knowing that no one may hear her because everyone was in class. She wasn't sure how many minutes had passed since the bell rung, but she was pretty sure no one would find her until after class ended.

She continued knocking, less enthusiastically this time, knowing that it was in vain. To her surprise the door opened. On the other side of the door was the Vird student from this morning with the hoodie and headphones. He held his laptop under his arm as he looked down at his feet.

"Thanks!" Jade started to his savior, but he started to walk away.

"No Problem. I was just looking for the bathroom," he said very low.

Jade gave a huge laugh and threw her arms around him. "Sorry, I forgot that I was, well I was sludged by this Grimer here."

"You're late to class," he said in response unenthusiastically. His arms remained at his sides as Jade continued to embrace him.

"YOU ARE THE BEST!" she screamed as she began to run down the hall to class.

Her uniform was covered in grime and she must have smelled horrible, but that didn't matter. Merlot had declared war against her and Jade wasn't going to let her win. She burst into Battle Arena Green. The Vird Battle Arena was actually an official Pokémon League Gym. It was a state of the art, modern facility, and her classmates were crowding around the Battle Teacher in the middle of the arena.

"Nice of you to join us," the teacher said as she joined the group. She was a beautiful young woman, no older than 30. She wore a green tracksuit with her purple hair tied behind her head in a ponytail.

"What is that smell?" Merlot mocked, curling up closer to Teal's arm.

"I'm sorry, I was…"

"Going to give me a long winded and unnecessary excuse," the teacher responded. "Well, I guess now I no longer have to pick a second volunteer. Position yourself opposite from Merlot in the battle arena please."

Merlot's eyes glowed at another opportunity to embarrass Jade. They took positions at opposite ends of the arena in the boxes labeled for Trainers. Jade was on the Green-side and Merlot on the Red-side.

"So we are going to continue our discussion on Pokémon Abilities," the Professor said as she took position in the middle of the arena. The rest of the classmates took their positions in the auditorium seating. The arena had been set up so that students could watch Gym battles as part of their regular curriculum. Jade met Teal's eyes and Teal gave her an encouraging thumb up.

Next to Merlot and Jade, pieces of the wooden paneled floor folded aside and a computer module erected itself out of the ground. Each computer had a screen, keyboard, and six divots for Pokéballs. Only one Pokéball occupied the divots on each of their terminals.

"The first thing that takes effect during a Pokémon battle are the Pokémon's abilities. It is a passive effect that a Pokémon automatically uses when they enter the battlefield. Now pick up your Pokémon ladies."

Merlot grabbed her Pokeball with haste and released an Ekans. The large snake Pokémon let out a loud and proud hiss as it awaited its opponent. Jade grabbed her pokeball and squeezed it tight, imagining her hands around Merlot's throat. She released her Pokeball to reveal a beautiful and spectacularly red Vulpix. The fox Pokémon responded to Jade's fury and bared her fangs at the large snake Pokémon.

"Now, who can tell me what Ekans' ability is?"

Jade ignored what the Professor was saying, and only focused on the opponent across from her. This time she met Merlot's eyes directly as Vulpix met the _Intimidate_ Ability of Ekans' eyes.

"And what is Vulpix's ability?"

"Isn't it Run Away?" Merlot answered with a large grin.

"Exactly. Now Jade, use your Pokémon's Ability to call Vulpix back to its Pokeball."

"Yeah Jade, run away!" Merlot laughed.

"Vulpix," Jade started, holding up her Pokeball to recall her Pokémon. She changed her mind. "Ember!"

With a flash of fire, Vulpix hit Ekans square in the face with a small fireball. The rest of the class screamed and cheered while Merlot dropped her smug grin.

"Jade! Call your Pokémon back!"

"Ekans! Rip that fox apart!"

"Lets go Vulpix!"


	2. Chapter 2

Introduction to Pokémon Ecology

"Ekans! Rip that fox apart!" Merlot screamed across the stadium.

"Lets go Vuplix!" and with a point of Jade's finger, the small fox charged the giant snake.

"Poison Sting!" Two glowing purple fangs dived down at Vulpix, but Jade was in complete control.

"Dive left, and hit it with another Ember!" Ekans' fangs snapped at empty air as Vulpix prepared another attack. Ekans rebounded too quickly and another set of fangs was moving towards the fox's neck. This hit was unavoidable and sent Vulpix flying across the arena.

"Finish it Ekans!" Merlot shouted over the cheers of her classmates.

"Vulpix get up!" The injured Pokémon slowly got to its feet as the predator slivered across the arena. A quick look at the terminal showed Jade that Vulpix was _Poisoned_. They needed to end this quickly.

"Ekans! Wrap!"

"Vulpix, flare out your tails and run towards me!" Ekans was on Vulpix in another second and flung its large body around the small fox. The Ekans began to squeeze, but Vulpix easily squeezed out of Ekan's clutches.

Vulpix gave a small whimper as the poison took its effect. Ekans stood to its full height and stared down the small fox. It was Jade's turn to call out an attack. She started to think about Ekans. An apex predator. Survives mostly on eating small rodent and reptilian Pokémon. Fast and powerful, they weaken their opponents with poison before eating them. And then there was Vulpix, a smaller predator. Small and cunning, Vulpix was lower on the food chain. Lacking the power and speed of Ekans, Vulpix had to rely on another mechanisms to capture prey.

"Vulpix, use Ember on the ground in front of Ekans and run straight for it."

"Finally giving up? Come over here so we can eat you!" Merlot almost sang the end of her taunt.

Vulpix fired at the ground in front of Ekans and darted straight towards the snake Pokémon. The ground erupted in small sparks and Ekans instinctively flinched back. "Vulpix jump right!"

"To your left Ekans!"

"Ember to your right!" Vulpix fired, "And strafe left!"

"Poison Sting again!"

Both the Ember and Poison Sting met only air. But in the confusion, it was Ekans that didn't know where Vulpix was.

"Its on your left!" Ekans turned to meet Vulpix's dark eyes.

"Confuse Ray!" Jade screamed.

"Wrap!" Merlot yelled.

Both Pokémon didn't move for a second. They stared each other down, the snake Pokémon towering over its prey. Then Ekans erupted from its coiled position at Vulpix. Vulpix now too weak due to the poison's effects, didn't move and accepted its fate. Ekans lept forwards and over Vulpix's body, completely missing its target. It then proceeded to wrap itself around an invisible target. It was completely Confused and squeezing onto itself.

"Vulpix, end this with Ember!" the fireball hit home and the battle was over. Ekans fell over as Jade ran onto the battlefield and hugged the injured Vulpix.

"Ekans return."

"Vulpix! You were amazing!" she exclaimed squeezing the poor Pokémon. "I'll be the only one wrapping you up today beautiful! Vulpix, return."

"That was a very impressive battle," The teacher interrupted moving to the middle of the arena. "In my five years teaching here, never have I seen two trainers show so much potential and… insolence at the same time. Jade. Detention. Merlot, this is a warning. Don't you two ever disobey me again. Pokémon are dangerous, and if you do not listen to me, someone can get seriously injured." The bell for lunch rang.

Jade spent her very first lunch session at The Vird in detention. A cute note from her mom fell out of the bag with her sandwich. "Good luck! Make lots of friends!"

"Oh yeah, I'm off to a great start mom. Counting Grimer and Vulpix, that makes two friends."

Lunch ended and Jade ran excitedly to her next class, Pokémon Ecology with none other than Professor Oak himself. Or it was supposed to be with Professor Oak, but he was away for research so she had the Battle Techniques teacher again.

"Oh, you're on time Jade," said Professor Pine, feigning surprise. A few students snickered, but Merlot was not one of them.

The class walked towards the Viridian Forest and broke into groups to work on a project. They were tasked with measuring the circumference around trees, identifying trees based on their leaves and bark, measuring distances between the trees, and working to identify the ways that different Pokémon used the trees.

"Hey!" Jade almost screamed to the boy with the headphones. "Do you want to be my partner?"

He stared at her for a second or two and then gave her a reluctant nod. His name was Copernicus, Jade had gathered from one of the earlier Icebreaker games. They started down a path West, into the woods.

She started pulling the measuring tape out and getting the distance between an Oak tree and a Cedar tree when she realized that she had lost Copernicus somewhere. She started retracing her steps until she found him sitting under an old Red Maple tree.

"It is really nice out today huh Copper?" she said as she sat down next to him.

She received no reply.

"Yeah Jade," she started to imitate his low voice talking to herself. "It is beautiful out! How is your first day of school going?"

"Well it's going. Thank you for asking." She replied this time in her own voice amusing herself.

Copper was working again on some lines of code on his computer. With his headphones and hoodie on, he appeared to not have much interest in anything that Jade was saying. But that wasn't going to ruin her day. So what, she may have to do all of this work on her own. It was beautiful out! Pidgeys were singing, Nidoran were chasing each other, Mankeys were swinging from trees… Jade loved being outside and loved being with Pokémon even more. She skipped through the woods, continuing down the trail that her and Copper were supposed to be on.

"Yeah! Get them Indigo!" she heard a scream coming from behind a row of Hickory trees. She then heard a loud crashing sound.

Jade ran through the trees and found Indigo and his two goons. Indigo was controlling a Magmar. There were a trio of Oddish injured on the ground, huddling around each other shaking.

"What other attacks does it know?" said the female member of the group. Jade was now sure that her name was Clementine. She was short and petite with bright orange hair and freckles. She was beautiful, despite having a rough tomboyish feel to her.

The Magmar released a Fire-Punch attack that sent all three Oddish flying.

"Nice Indigo! You should use Ember again!" the other goon was a boy by the name Magenta. But he wanted to be called Mag. He was tall and thin, in an awkward kind of way. He was Indigo's permanent hype-man, providing unnecessary and sycophantic remarks at every word Indigo said.

"Leave them alone!" Jade screamed as she jumped into the clearing between the Magmar and the injured Oddish. "You already fainted them! Can't you see they have no will to fight any more! You are just hurting them for fun!"

"Move out of the way. We are training!" Indigo said. Indigo was a few inches shorter than Jade and had to look up to stare her in the eyes.

"How do you even have a Pokémon?" Jade demanded. Only registered Pokémon trainers with a _PokeGear_ could hold Pokémon, but Indigo had somehow gotten around this. He held an Ultraball in his hand that Jade assumed was Magmar's Pokeball.

"Mind your own business and walk away!" Mag squealed from behind Indigo.

"Call back your Magmar and walk away!" Jade demanded, not breaking eye contact from Indigo.

"Or what?" Clem chimed in.

"Or I'll tell that you have an unregistered Pokémon."

"You wouldn't tell!" Indigo spat out as Magmar roared with frustration. Jade fought the urge to flinch backwards as the powerful Fire Pokémon Roared."Already, no one in school likes you. And the first day hasn't even ended yet!"

"Yeah, I'm so fine with that." Jade crossed her arms.

"Ooh! She's so scary!" Clementine mocked with a laugh.

"Is there a problem over here?" said a new voice as Teal and Merlot entered the clearing. "We heard a loud crashing noise."

"Magmar return!" Indigo yelled calling his Pokémon back into its Pokeball. "Lets get out of here."

"Teal. These Pokémon are injured! Help me." Jade said as she picked up one of the injured Oddish. Tears were rushing down her face.

Teal picked up the other two. "We can take them back to school," Teal offered.

"No! We shouldn't," Jade started and Teal knew why. It wasn't because she was afraid of not being liked. Jade didn't want to get Indigo and his friends in trouble. Having an unregistered Pokémon was grounds for expulsion from school.

"Fine. There is a Pokémon Center not far from here."

"Teal! What are you doing!" Merlot complained.

"Come on Merl. These Pokémon are injured." He replied as he threw one of the Oddish into Merlot's arms

"Ugh, it's covered in dirt!"

The three of them began to run through the woods towards the Viridian City Pokémon Center. Somewhere down the trail, Merlot became too winded to continue running. Jade took a little bit of pleasure in the idea that Merlot couldn't run the mile or two into town. Teal took her Oddish and continued alone with Jade.

A Nurse happily helped them as they returned to Viridian City. "First day at The Vird and you two are already little heroes. But shouldn't you two get back to school." The nurse took the three injured Pokémon.

The walk back to school was mostly silent until Teal broke the silence.

"You shouldn't cover for those jerks."

"You mean your friends?"

"They are NOT friends of mine!"

"Haha, I know. I'm just teasing. Look, they probably aren't bad guys. They were just a little eager to use a Pokémon in battle."

"You'd know, Ms. Confuse Ray," Teal laughed.

"Yeah. I don't know what happened back there. It started with me wanting to shut up Merlot, but in the end I just wanted to win. And so did Vulpix!"

"Haha, that is so awesome. I can't wait till my first Pokémon Battle"

The two of them reached the black gates of the school at the same time as the rest of the class. That was when Jade realized that she hadn't done the assignment. Merlot had strategically used her _Charm_ to copy the data another student had recorded, so her and Teal would not be penalized. But Jade, not wanting to get Indigo and his friends in trouble, stood there without any data as the teacher came around collecting their classwork.

"And you Jade?"

"Well, you see…"

"Here you go Ms. Pine," said Copper approaching the Battle Techniques/ Pokémon Ecology teacher. On his computer, he used GPS information and Satellite information from SilphEarth to do the entire project from his computer. All of the data was there as well as censuses on the Pokémon species that inhabited the Viridian City Ecosystem.

"That's twice you've saved me today," Jade threw her arms around Copper again.

"I didn't do it to save you. I was only using the Global Positioning Satellite to find the bathroom."

"Did… Did you just tell a joke? There is hope for you yet Copper."

"Yeah, about that nickname…" Copernicus started as he met Jade's dark brown eyes. "Fine. You can call me Copper."

Day one of classes was over. Most students lived on campus at one of the Residential Dormitories, but Jade was one of the few students who lived close enough to go back home. She walked towards the gate, but Indigo and his goons were blocking her way.

"Going home my little Oddish?" Indigo said as she approached.

"Yes. Unless you're going to stop me!" she dared back at him, holding her ground.

"Oh gosh no! Nothing like that."

"Good. Excuse me," and Jade pushed past him through the gate.

"You didn't tell anyone did you?"

Jade could tell that there was genuine fear in Indigo's voice.

"Because if you did tell anyone, I will make this place a living nightmare for you!"

Jade was always really bad at turning down a challenge. Her dad said it was a trait she got from her mom. Her parents met at a conference where her mom was dared by some colleagues to give her entire presentation on Pokémon Evolution without using words containing the letter "E". Her dad was so charmed by her presentation and the rest is history.

"You are going to get yourself and other Pokémon hurt if you keep using an unregistered Pokémon!" Jade spat out.

"How about a Pokémon Battle?" Indigo offered. "I win, you never bring this up again. You win and I'll stop using Magmar… Well at least stop using him during Ecology Class."

"I umm… Don't have any Pokémon."

"Get them from school! Duh!" chimed in Clementine.

"Fine. Lets go!" Jade accepted.

"Not now. Tonight."

"Fine. Battle Arena Green?" Jade suggested.

"Ha! No! Viridian Forest. 10p.m."

Jade knew that Viridian Forest was dangerous. But at night there were many more dangerous Pokémon that would be around. Many Bug and Poison-type Pokémon would be out, and there was also the threat of getting lost. But Jade couldn't turn down this challenge. She thought, "Would Scarlet have turned this challenge down?" And she knew the answer. Scarlet would wipe that smug grin off of Indigo's face.

"Alright. 10p.m. it is. I'll meet you in the place you thought it was fun to pick on those innocent Oddish. But this time, I'll be the one smacking around on three defenseless prey items," she stared Indigo and his friends down.

Indigo replied with a gigantic smile and walked away.

"What on Earth did I just get myself into?" Jade thought as she began her walk home.


	3. Chapter 3

Introduction to Pokémon Technologies

"Insert Student or Faculty Identification Card." The terminal beeped.

Jade inserted her card into the same computer terminal where earlier in class she battled Merlot. She then scanned the dark auditorium for the twentieth time to make sure she was still alone.

"Input your Identification Number," instructed the computer next.

She punched in her Student ID Number '054-00-9996'. The screen went blue, the only light in the dark stadium. The divot where the Pokéball was this afternoon remained empty.

"Thank you and good luck," said the computer with a tone that Jade thought was almost condescending.

"But where is my Pokémon!" Jade exploded, banging on the computer terminal in irritation.

"You need to input a faculty override in order to _actually_ get a Pokémon," came a voice from the darkness.

Jade jumped in surprise as she scanned the dark auditorium for the origin of the voice. Her eyes met only darkness.

"Oh sorry! All this anime watching has given me a flare for dramatic entrances." The owner of the voice pressed a button on his computer and a spotlight appeared in the middle of the auditorium seating.

"Copper!" Jade screamed in delight and surprise.

Copernicus pressed another button on his laptop and the rest of the lights in Battle Arena Green turned on. He was very impressed with himself. "And even if you did know a computer genius who could bypass that whole need of a faculty ID card, you would still need a PokeGear in order to use a Pokémon outside of school grounds."

"How did you know about-?" Jade fumbled for words.

"But a real computer genius would be able to refurbish some retired PokeGears and lets say hack them to be used in said unsanctioned Pokémon battle against a trio of idiots who need to be taught a lesson."

"My hero!" Jade replied mostly in jest.

"Well, saving you two times in one day didn't seem right. Three… well that's a better number."

And Copper did what he said he would. He hooked up his computer to the Battle Terminal and threw out words like "VPN" and "Tunneling Protocol" as he typed away. Unfortunately the terminal was limited to _Exhibition Mode_ and could only release one Pokémon from the computer per Student ID. And even then, the Pokémon was chosen randomly from a file called "Intermediate Battle Techniques."

"I wonder what Pokémon I have?" Copper asked staring at the newly acquired Pokeball.

"If you check the PokeGear it says that… Oh no! My battle is in… 20 minute ago!"

The two of them ran to Viridian forest, each holding a Pokéball. Copper explained that he heard Indigo in the dorms boasting about a battle against Jade tonight. There was a bet going that Jade would get caught at school trying to steal a Pokémon and get expelled. Copernicus ran to school to make sure that wouldn't happen. He originally came to convince Jade not to go through with the battle, but remembered the look she had in her eyes after he let her out of the broom closet. Jade was not someone who would run from a battle.

"You know, if you were a Pokémon your special ability would be _Rock Head_!" Copper joked as they ran north, through the dark streets of Viridian City.

"I thought it'd be something more like _Blaze_ or _Defiant_!" Jade cackled in the moonlight.

It was a Full Moon over head, but the forest was still dark under the thick tree canopy.

"Where do you think they are?" Jade said as they reached the first fork in the trail.

"Here, use this." Copper handed Jade a small, shield-shaped item called a _Vs. Seeker_. "You point it in a direction, and it glows Red if pointed in the direction of a Trainer who is ready to battle."

Jade pointed the device West. After a few dozen tries, the device glowed red and made a small beep.

"The louder the beep, the closer they are." And they were off again.

"Yeah! You're the best Indigo!" cheered on Magenta, as Magmar faced off against a bug-trainer and his Metapod.

"Hit it with another Fire-Punch," screamed Clementine.

"Oh man! You're too strong," the Bug trainer said admitting defeat. He recalled his Metapod. "I guess that Pokémon Academy really hatches some tough trainers huh."

"Oh please! Bug Pokémon are just weak. You were barely a warm up for my Magmar."

"Actually Bug Pokémon have many strengths. If you train them—"

"You can train them to make pretty good Pidgeotto food," Indigo joked rolling his eyes. His goons laughed out loud, with Magenta unnecessarily falling to the grass. Indigo was on a roll, and had defeated there Bug Trainers while waiting for Jade.

"Oh Indigo, you're so gonna be Pokémon Champion one day," said Mag from the grass.

"Beat it bug nerd!" Indigo ordered as his latest prey disappeared out of the clearing in defeat.

"Geez, I guess Jade really was too chicken to come," Magenta laughed.

"Yeah, that or she really did get caught trying to take a Pokémon," Clementine added as she stretched her arms upwards. "The moon sure is beautiful tonight."

"Lets go find some more Bug Pokémon to kick around!"

"No, that's enough," called out a soft voice in the brush. A beautiful woman with long dark hair came into the clearing across from the young trio. She looked to be in her twenties and floated with the grace of a Butterfree across the grass. She wore a purple dress, no shoes, and wielded a butterfly net over her shoulder. Atop her head was a crown of wild flowers.

"Beat it sister," started Clementine.

"No. If she's a Pokémon Trainer, Magmar could use another opponent."

"I don't see any Pokeballs on her though?"

One of the Bug Trainers that Indigo beat earlier came out of the brush next. He dropped to one knee and bowed before the woman. "These are the guys I told you about your highness."

"Yes," the mysterious woman said softly. "I believe they are also the ones responsible for attacking those Oddish earlier."

"Listen guys. Time is money. I already beat your little friend, and unless you have Pokémon you are just wasting my time." Magmar let out a roar to back up his trainer's ferocity. The young woman smiled in response.

Jade and Copper followed the glowing _Vs. Seeker_ as the sound and intensity of the beeps increased.

"We are getting closer," Jade exclaimed when something pulled at her arms from behind. One second she was running, and the next she was being elevated into the air. She tried in vain to move her arms and legs, but an invisible force was lifting them. She looked to her right and saw that Copper was also being elevated. The Vs. Seeker fell, but stayed suspended in the air, as if caught by an invisible hand.

"This is… silk? String shot from a Pokémon!" Jade yelled to Copper as they continued kicking for the ground, suspended about five feet in the air.

The beeping of the Vs. Seeker got louder and louder until it stopped and permanently glowed red.

"It looks like lots of little mammals are falling into our web tonight."

Jade and Copper were captured by the mysterious young woman that confronted Indigo and his friends. She walked around them, studying them intensely. She seemed to float just over the ground, with her bare feet barely disturbing the blades of grass below them. All around them, Weedle and Caterpie ascended and descended the matrix of webs, studying the young students.

"Usually that school of yours produces some descent Pokémon Trainers, but you larvae have no respect for Pokémon," scolded the mysterious woman.

"What are you talking about?!" Jade screamed. "I love Pokémon!"

"Tell that to the Oddish you and your friends attacked earlier. My Bug Pokémon told me that it was a group of Academy students with a Magmar."

"We had nothing to do with that!" Jade almost screamed in frustration.

"Then is it just a coincidence that you happen to be traipsing around my forest on the same night as those three?"

"No Miss," Copper tried to explain. "We are not with them and had nothing to do with the attack on those Oddish."

The Caterpie that were working on their web-prison climbed up and down Jade and Copper's bodies. Their horns glowed an even brighter red.

"They say you are telling me the truth."

"You think!"

"Jade, lets try and be a little bit nicer to the woman with an army of poisonous Pokemon!"

"Weedle are actually considered venomous not poisonous because…"

" _NOT_ the time Jade!"

The Caterpie and Weedle released their hold on the spinnerets and slowly lowered Jade and Copper to the ground.

"Leave my forest immediately," the mysterious woman demanded.

"Yes ma'am!" Copper exclaimed.

"Where are the other three Vird students?" demanded Jade. Copper face-palmed.

"They are on trial by the forest."

"Excuse me!"

"They committed a crime and are being held."

"Take me to them!" Jade yelled, but after a look from Copper added a "Please."

They walked through the dark forest behind the mysterious woman. As they got deeper into the forest, more and more Bug Pokémon could be seen in the shadows. Butterfree and Beedrill flew above them; shadows of other crawling Pokémon climbed branches and rustled through the grass. Eventually they reached a large clearing, lit only by the full moon. In the clearing there were about two dozen young Bug Trainers. All males in their upper teens or new twenties wearing the same white tank tops and brown shorts. They all bowed as the mysterious woman came into sight, raising their butterfly nets up.

"Who is this woman?" Copper asked Jade.

"Don't know. Don't care."

The mysterious woman led them to a giant pit in the ground. At the bottom of the pit were Indigo, Clementine, and Magenta, but they were also joined by about 100 squirming Weedle.

"They have been injected by Weedle venom. A single injection of the toxin will cause pain. A little more will make you sick. If they are truly innocent, the amount of toxin that they have been given will not kill them."

"You are Zubat-wing crazy!" Jade screamed.

"It is the way of Viridian Forest."

"We have to give them the antidote… or berries… or something!" Copper chimed in. "They'll die!"

"If that is what the forest decides."

"You can't do this. Please let them go!" Jade said. She abandoned her tough facade. "Yes, they hurt those innocent Pokémon. But they are young. You said it yourself. We are larvae! We can learn! Can we do anything? Can we have some other kind of trial?"

"Another kind of trial?" the mysterious woman stopped and asked herself as she looked towards the Full Moon. "Today _would_ be a magnificent day for one of _those_ trials.

"Tell me what to do! I'll do anything."

The mysterious woman explained the parameters of the new trial. "In the northern part of the forest the trees begin to change from Old Growth Oaks to New Growth White Ash and Hickory trees. When that happens, the bushes start to grow Pecha Berries. I think about 5 each should rid the poison in your friends' bodies. Get the berries back before your friends die, and they can walk free."

"Alright!" Jade said squeezing the stolen Pokeball from school.

"I'll give you a five minute head start."

"Five minutes?" Jade reacted. "You're going to race me?"

"I won't move an inch," she responded. "The forest will try and impede your mission."

"Ugh. Great."

Jade and Copper began to run into the woods. Luckily Jade had a compass and knowledge of her plant species.

"Copper, I want you to go back to town."

"Yeah right! I'm not gonna leave you now!"

"Listen. You have to!" Jade pleaded. "You have to go back for help. If I don't make it, you are their only hope."

"Fine! I'll find help. But here, take the other Pokémon."

"I couldn't use it even if I wanted to. It's registered to your PokeGear."

"Oh yeah."

"You sure you're a computer genius?"

"Shut up!" Copper responded jokingly. "Good luck."

They stared at each other on the dark trail. It was very quiet, until it wasn't anymore. All at once the trees around them erupted in a loud buzzing sound. A swarm of Beedrill exploded out of the brush around them. They swarmed above the canopy. A loud and angry buzz could be felt in the students' bones.

"Run Copper!" Jade pushed the young boy South and the two young heroes ran in opposite directions.


	4. Chapter 4

Seminar 1: Bug-Type Pokémon

Hundreds of Beedrill exploded out of the surrounding brush. The beating of their collective wings was as loud as a helicopter taking off. Jade wasn't sure Copper could hear her but she screamed for him to run and get help.

And so they ran in different directions. Jade ran north, deeper into the forest, and Copernicus ran south back to town. Jade chanced a glance behind her shoulder and saw the mass of Beedrill swarming. They spun in a spiral, backlit by the moonlight, but the swarm did not advance. It was as if they were thinking.

At 10 years old, Jade went through a phase where all she did was study Bug-type Pokémon. Beedrill communicate with each other through pheromone trails and waggle dances. They send a message to each other by _dancing_ in a particular direction while keeping their their abdomen pointed to the sun. This combined with the pheromone cocktail that they secrete tells the other Beedrill the location of food or recruits bees to mount defenses against invaders to the colony. Jade theorized that the Beedrill in the swarm were communicating and acting as one gigantic organism. They were receiving a signal on which direction to go. Instead of the sun, Jade surmised that they must have been using the full moon to direct themselves. Jade started to formulate a plan.

It didn't take long for them to decide, and all of the Beedrill faced North towards Jade. Copper was in the clear and would make it out of the forest, but Jade had a whole colony of angry Beedrill at her tail. Jade ran as quickly as her body would allow her to. She abandoned the trail and moved through the trees. It was darker under the canopy and she had to slow down to move through the undergrowth. She heard the buzz of wings get louder. Every turn she made put her in the line of an advancing Beedrill. She continued running and had more and more close calls until one finally clipped her shoulder. She dropped to the ground, as a sharp pain split her shoulder and radiated down her body. She let out a scream as the mass of Beedrill continued to swarm around her. The swarm eclipsed the moon and descended down towards Jade, exactly where she wanted them.

Jade grabbed her Pokeball in one hand and the Repel from her bag in the other. She released her Pokeball and a beautiful young Ponyta erupted from within it. It let out a proud and powerful neigh, kicking his legs into the air. Jade put her hand on the young Pokémon's fiery mane and touched her forehead to his. Her hand was warm under its flame, but did not burn. She put one leg over its body as the swarm descended onto her.

"RUN!" she screamed.

At first Jade was worried that the incoming swarm would startle Ponyta, but it was cool under pressure. All around her the bug Pokémon swarmed and buzzed, and she could not make out anything except for the swarm in all directions. She felt her entire body rush forward as the small horse Pokémon propelled itself through the mass of Beedrill. It was as if their bodies had turned into the Southern Wind. The pair moved through piercing stingers and needles of angry Beedrill without once getting clipped. In their wake, Jade left a _Super-Repel_ and could hear a needle puncture the pressurized container.

Ponyta's ability was 'Run Away' and they had used it to escape the swarm successfully. They left the confused Beedrill behind them. The Repel they left behind interfered with the chemical signal of the Beedrills' pheromones. Because of this they were cut off from communicating with each other. The confused Beedrill would sting at each other, unable to decipher their pheromone code.

Jade looked up to the moon and gave it a wink. "I spared your life today moon, but next time you may not be as lucky!"

Ponyta gave Jade a confused neigh as she laughed to herself. They continued north.

"And that's the third Hickory Tree, oppositely arranged leaves, no serrations… White Ash!" she realized she was in the Northern part of the forest. "Pecha berries… Where are you Pecha Berries?"

Jade scanned the bushes on both sides of the trail until she found the pink berries she was looking for. She flipped her bag off her back and filled the pouches with berries.

"Oh Ponyta! You were amazing back there!"

The proud Pokémon gave a smug neigh in response.

"I mean, those Beedrill didn't even shake you! You were so incredible!"

If it were possible to neigh even more smugly, Ponyta did as he beat his hoof to the ground. It was then that it snapped to attention and took up a protective stance in front of Jade. Out of the bushes emerged a wild Pinsir. Its large and sharp claws caught the moonlight as it let out a horrible sounding snarl.

Ponyta kicked both of its legs into the air in response.

"We need to run!" Jade screamed, but Ponyta disagreed. He stared the Pokémon down and began to kick dirt behind him.

The wild Pokémon lunged, and Ponyta charged straight at it.

"Stop!"

The Pinser was too strong and Ponyta was sent flying backwards, the sufferer of a tackle attack. He landed with a large thud. Jade stood in front of Ponyta now, protecting the Pokémon as it was down. The Pinser advanced. Ponyta got his legs beneath him and stood up. Jade opened her Pokegear to see that Ponyta's health was in the yellow (Less that 50%).

"Alright, I understand not wanting to run from a fight! Lets take this thing down!"

She looked at her PokeGear. Ponyta had two attacks. Tackle and Ember. Not much to work with. Jade started to think about what she knew about Pinsir. "Solitary predators. Not very smart, not very fast, but boy can they hit hard. Hard exoskeleton, makes turning around difficult. Very territorial, probably something the mysterious Bug woman knew before sending us up here…" As Jade was thinking, the Pinsir lunged again.

"Show me your highest jump Ponyta!"

And Ponyta lept clear over Pinsir like it was jumping over a puddle. Pinsir continued into a hickory tree and one of its horns got stuck. With a little effort, the large bug Pokémon pulled free, snapping the tree in half.

"Ember!" and with a flash of fire she hit the Pinsir head on.

Pinsir crouched down and lunged at Ponyta again.

"Are you going to let that hit you?" Jade screamed, trying to feed into her Pokémon's ego.

This time Ponyta jumped to the side and left Pinsir swinging at nothing but air with its large horns. The speed and power of the attack cut through the air like a blade.

"Okay buddy. Enough showing off. Call me impressed! You ready to get out of here!" Jade jumped on Ponyta's back and they began to run south. The Pinsir lunged forward to intercept them.

"Listen, we are leaving your territory! There is no need to continue fighting!"

But the Pinsir continued forward and cut off their retreat path. Jade thought about taking the long way around, but knew that time wasn't on their side. They had to get back to help Indigo, Clem, and Mag. Jumping over Pinsir would be too dangerous with her on top of Ponyta. Going around would expose them to a side attack. Jade continued to think. Pinsir hate the cold, but there was no way she could make it colder, especially not with a Fire type Pokémon.

"Ponyta, do me a favor?" she asked putting her forehead to his again. "Make yourself as bright as you can." And Ponyta did. He increased the strength of his flames until he was easily the brightest thing in the forest. Pinser did not attack, and stared at Ponyta's brilliant light. Ponyta continued to glow brighter, until there was an aura of red light glowing around him. Many bug Pokémon from the woods started to appear. Caterpie and Weedle first, then Venonats and Venomoths… Soon the forest was so loud with crawling and singing Bug-Type Pokémon. Pinser snapped at many of the new "invaders" to his territory.

The next sound Jade heard was the one she was waiting for. It was the swarm of Beedrill. They most likely had recovered from the effects of the _Repel_ , and were moving towards Ponyta. Ponyta was now the brightest thing in the forest, and the Beedrill were using Ponyta as the axis to direct their waggle dances.

"Science!" Jade screamed as the Pinsir snapped at the approaching Beedrill. She found a gap between the incoming swarm and the Pinser, kicked at Ponyta's sides, and proceeded south down the trail. They ran back, with Ponyta still glowing to his maximum. The Beedrill swarm was on their heels, but Jade had a shield of Bug Pokémon trailing her, coming to meet Ponyta's brilliant light.

And they reached the clearing safely. She dismounted and put her forehead to the small horse Pokémon again. "Ponyta! You are the best!" Jade screamed in his face. The Pokémon once again let out a proud neigh, kicking into the air. Jade could see that he was exhausted from the run and keeping his flames up so high. "Return you beautiful, beautiful boy."

"Not bad."

"Not bad? I kicked the forest's butt!" She walked forward to the hole in the ground where Indigo's group was. "Let them out!"

"You have almost completed your task."

"Almost?!" Jade shouted. "I got the berries!"

"Yes, but now you must go through me." The mysterious Bug Trainer raised her arm, and a Venomoth descended from out of the forest.

Jade looked down at Ponyta's Pokeball. He was exhausted. She doubted he could continue in a Pokémon Battle. She didn't want to ask any more of him, but she had no choice.

"Ponyta, go!" she called out her Pokémon almost apologetically.

"The first move is yours," the mysterious trainer extended her hand to Jade.

"Ponyta! Ember!" And sparks of flame erupted out of his mane towards the large moth Pokémon.

The trainer didn't say anything, but the flames met with with an invisible shield. Jade recognized it as either the attack Confusion or Psychic.

"Ponyta, lets show them our speed!" Any Ponyta made use of the space in the clearing. It ran an arc around Venomoth and was now at its back. Jade noticed that Ponyta was not moving as fast as he was earlier.

"Venomoth," was all her opponent said. One second the ground around Ponyta was glowing purple and the next second the ground erupted violently. Ponyta was sent flying multiple feet in the air. Jade knew it was another Psychic-type attack. The Bug-Trainers around them cheered in excitement. She had almost forgetten they were there. She suddenly felt very alone.

"Ponyta!" Jade screamed as she ran to her Pokémon. She put her body between her Pokémon and the powerful Venomoth.

"You have lost. Your friends' lives belong to Viridian Forest now."

Jade slumped to the ground, holding her injured Pokémon. Tears streamed down her face and sizzled upon reaching Ponyta's neck.

"Geez that's rough," came a familiar voice from behind the Bug Trainer. They all turned towards a stirring brush at the edge of the clearing as Teal broke his way into the glade. He sported a long board under one arm and a Vs. Seeker in the other hand glowing red. "I was actually trying to think of a cooler thing to say when I walked in, but I couldn't really come up with anything." He rose up his hands nonchalantly.


	5. Chapter 5

Intermediate Battle Techniques:

A figure broke through the tree line, into the clearing. Jade couldn't exactly hear what he was saying but was able to make him out as he came into the moonlight.

"Teal?"

He was wearing a long white T-shirt and purple pajama pants with a Goldeen pattern on them. The other bug-catchers cleared a path as he moved through the clearing. Teal passed in front of Jade, but didn't break eye contact from the mysterious Queen of Viridian Forest. Teal had a long-board tucked under one arm and a _Vs. Seeker_ glowing red in the other hand. It was Copper's _Vs. Seeker_.

"Another larvae from that school of yours?" The woman's Venomoth bobbed behind her as she gracefully crossed the grass to consider Teal better. She seemed to float over the grass, barely disturbing the sleeping blades underneath. The Venomoth let out a type of snarl that Jade couldn't imagine coming from a bug-Pokémon. Purple dust flaked off of its wings, reflecting the moonlight above. The two trainers stood less than a foot from each other. The moment was intense and eerily intimate to Jade.  
Teal also sized up the mysterious woman. She was older, in her twenties, and absolutely beautiful in a very natural way. She wore a crown of wild flowers atop long purple hair that extended to her waist. They met each other's eyes for a few seconds until Teal reached for the Pokeball on his belt.

"Go Rattata!" Teal jumped backwards and released his Pokémon.

The purple rat Pokémon exploded out of the Pokeball and stood its ground in the middle of the clearing. It sniffed around in a few directions before setting its sights on Venomoth. The Rattata didn't bear its fangs at Venomoth; instead it studied the large bug Pokémon with curiosity.

"Heya little guy," Teal said as he took a knee besides his Pokémon. "I know we just met, but I need to borrow your strength."

"Tata?" The Pokémon responded with a turn of its head.

"You see that beautiful young woman over there," Teal said pointing at Jade, still kneeling in the grass. "She needs our help. She has been fighting very bravely and it is time for us to play clean up."

Rattata looked over at Jade and then stiffened his posture. It stared down the enemy Venomoth proudly and bared its fangs- Jade's proud defender. Jade found herself unconsciously smiling.

"You can have the first move," said the mysterious woman taking position behind her Venomoth.

"Go Rattata! Run!" and Rattata ran, past Venomoth, and away from the battle. Rattata kept running and eventually reached the tree line about 20 feet away.

"Hmm…" the Bug-Trainer considered.

For a minute nothing happened. Rattata disappeared into the dark forest and left the battlefield in silence. The leaves in the canopy shook, but Venomoth didn't pursue.

"Bite!"

Rattata exploded out of the top of the canopy and landed on top of Venomoth. It landed a bite attack, clipping one of Venomoth's wings. Rattata landed on the ground behind Venometh.

"Venomoth, behind you," the young woman said calmly. "Psychic."

"Tail Whip!"

Venomoth turned around, but Rattata circled around to stay out of Venomoth's sight. When Venomoth finally did catch sight of Rattata it was too late. Tail Whip had already landed. The rat Pokémon's purple tail brushed strangely against Venomoth's abdomen.

"Let's go!" Teal screamed and the Rattata responded by putting distance between itself and Venomoth again.

"Interesting…"

Rattata once again crossed into the tree line. And again the leaves in the canopy shook. The mysterious woman breathed in and closed her eyes.

One by one, the trees in the clearing glowed purpled. Jade noticed that Venomoth's eyes glowed the same purple. The glowing trees begant to bend over violently and snapped with a loud crack. Teal realized that she was extending the size of the clearing so that Rattata couldn't use its speed for another surprise attack. Seven trees floated in the air above the forest so far, with another three trees glowing purple under the strain of the psychic attack. Out of one of the floating trees, Rattata was shaken out and fell prone on the ground. The bug-trainer tilted her head slightly, and the falling trees made their way to fall onto Rattata.

Rattata barely got his footing as trees began to descend towards him.

"Rattata! Cross the bridge!" Teal screamed, and Rattata responded by jumping from falling tree to falling tree. By the time the first tree hit the ground, Rattata was already in the air, jumping from the seventh descending tree.

"Catch him with another Psychic," the bug trainer said calmly. Rattata glowed purple, caught in mid-air, and was sent flying into the piles of fallen trees. The hit was hard. Teal clenched his jaw and fists.

"Shake it off buddy!" Teal screamed as Rattata got his little feet under him again. "Lets show them our speed."

"Venomoth," was the woman's only response.

Rattata ran in an arc around Venomoth. Jade recognized it as the same strategy that she tried to use. The ground started to detonate around the small rat Pokémon, but it zigged and zagged correctly to avoid being a part of the blast. Teal and Rattata were in sync, and were predicting the placing of Venomoth's Psychic attacks before they landed.

"Now," Teal ordered and Rattata turned to charge his opponent.

"Gust Venomoth!" The woman lost her composure as Rattata closed the distance.

Venomoth pulled its wings back and Rattata could feel the pull of a vacuum being created under his feet. Teal noticed the grass bend towards Venomoth and knew the attack was coming.

"Hyper Fang!" and with that Rattata suddenly increased his speed. The Gust attack missed, hitting behind Rattata who had already crossed underneath and behind the large moth. Venomoth was left vulnerable after its missed attack, and Rattata found a spot underneath its abdomen again. Rattata bent his legs and struck Venomoth high on the thorax. The large moth Pokémon fell backwards, unable to recover from the force of the hit.

"Hmm…" the bug-trainer considered.

Ponyta recovered enough to carry Clementine and Magenta on his back. This left Jade and Teal to carry Indigo, slumped unconscious over their shoulders.

"He is heavier than he looks," Jade grunted, trying to reposition herself underneath Indigo's arm.

"Yeah, we forgot to accommodate for the weight of his ego," Teal said with a laugh as they dragged the unconscious trio out of the forest. When they finally reached the edge of the forest they had to put him down.

"Why don't you go stretch your legs for a bit Ponyta?"

Ponyta let out an exuberant neigh and dropped Clem and Mag to the ground.

"Go keep him company Rattata."

Jade found a downed tree, and sat with her back to it. She let out an exhausted sigh.

"Five hours till first bell," Teal said as he took a seat next to her.

Jade let out an even longer sigh as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "At least its nice out… Where is the moon?"

"Its behind The Plateau," Teal answered pointing west to Indigo Plateau in the distance.

"Hey… Umm… Thank you."

"No problem, at this hour the moon is always in that direction."

"Stupid! You know what I mean!"

"Haha! Of course. But tomorrow night, maybe lets just watch a movie or play a board game," Teal said with a smile. He was always smiling.

"Oh darn, I had plans to thwart a Team Rocket plot to take over the world."

They continued talking, too tired to continue the trek back down to Viridian City. Teal was in the middle of a story about the time he almost reeled in a Dratini, when he realized that Jade was fast asleep, her head on his shoulder.

Copper was running so hard that he could feel his heart in his throat. Police Officers, Professors from school, and volunteers from town were right behind him as he ran north to Viridian Forest. Eventually an officer on a motorbike passed him, and he let himself stop to catch his breath. But he couldn't catch his breath. He searched his pockets and realized that he left his inhaler back at school. He immediately stopped running and put his hands behind his head. Professor Beech (Pokémon League History teacher) caught up to him first and stopped by to make sure he was okay.

"I… Have… to…" Copper wheezed.

"Take it easy buddy... Copernicus was it? We will find your friend. She will be alright." The first members of the rescue party began to pass them.

Copper couldn't "Take it easy" though. He ran past his professor and caught up to the rescue party. He realized that he only caught up because they had stopped, maybe 100 meters from where he originially stopped to catch his breath. He pushed through the crowd, fearing the worst. Images of Jade covered in Weedle stings filled his mind. What he actually saw was even worse.

Jade was indeed there, with her back to a fallen tree and her head on Teal's shoulder. She had her arms wrapped tightly around his arm, and slowly came to. She awoke to see half of Viridian City in front of her.

"They are okay," Teal said in a low voice pointing to the pile of his classmates still unconscious on the grass. "We treated their stings with Pecha berries."

Jade slowly unwrapped herself from Teal's arm, shaking sleep from her face. "Sorry to have caused you guys to panic."

Copper slipped back into the crowd before Jade could see him. Teal had been the big hero. Tall, good looking, and in shape Teal had come to save her. "It was a no-brainer," he thought. "Girls like that don't wind up with short, overweight, asthmatic nerds like me."

"Where is Copper?!" Jade screamed suddenly. "Is he okay? I lost him in a sea of Beedrill. It was horrendous! There was this trainer…"

Copper turned around and saw tears streaming down her face.

"Heya," he said turning back to see her through the crowd.

Jade jumped up and threw her arms around him. Tears soaked through his hoodie as she squeezed him even tighter, "You are okay!"

"Yeah, you know. Just a couple hundred Beedrill. Any other Monday night."

"Tuesday morning," Professor Pine supplied. "And time for a couple of Freshman to be getting sleep for a long day of class tomorrow."

"Yes ma'am," they replied in unison.

The crowd vanished and a group of officers escorted the students back to campus. Professor Pine waited until everyone had left, and proceeded to enter the forest. She didn't walk five steps in before she heard a rustle in the bushes nearby.

"I told you she wasn't anything special," Professor Pine said into the darkness. The mysterious purple-haired Bug-Trainer appeared behind her.

"She is bright. And resourceful. And has respect for Pokémon."

"Pshh!" Professor Pine let out a frustrated sigh. "She had to be rescued! And you were going easy on her?"

"Hmm…"

"Listen, if Oak and Ceil want to waste their time working with this girl, let them. At least someone should be concerned with running this school.

"Goodnight Violet."

"Goodnight?!" Professor Violet Pine laughed as she pointed East towards the first rays of dawn. "I am really starting to hate teaching!"


	6. Chapter 6

Seminar in Sportsmanship

It was the first weekend of the school year and Indigo came home. He was lying on his bed, truly appreciating how spacious his room at home was. Of course, it wasn't too bad at school. He paid his Resident Assistant to switch rooms with him, so he had a room to himself without a roommate. He also hired contractors to demolish the walls of the neighboring dorm to turn his room into a suite. He was anxious to see how that turned out for Monday. But for now, he laid on his bed on this lazy Saturday.

A knock came to the door and Indigo jumped up. He grabbed a textbook from the floor and pretended to read it.

"Come in!" It was one of the maids. He always forgot their names. The woman was a heavy set, older woman from a nearby town. She was relatively new, as there was high turnover at this position.

"Young Master," she addressed him. "Your father would like to speak to you in his study." It was September, and Indigo could count the number of times he'd spoken to his father this year on one hand. He knew he must have been in trouble, undoubtedly for the incident in Viridian Forest.

He descended the stairs and came to the heavy double doors that opened into his father's office. He knocked and was answered by a grunt.

"It's Indigo," he spat out weakly through the door.

"Enter."

His father's office always inspired Indigo. The walls were covered in maps and expensive pieces of art. A giant marble statue of a Nidoking stood guard in the corner. His desk was an ancient work oh mahogany, carved by blind monks or deaf Scythers or something to that effect.

Indigo's father typed away at a laptop on his desk and let Indigo find his way to a seat. Indigo crossed his hands on his lap, and felt like a little boy again.

"School?" His father's voice erupted like the bass of a roaring Rhydon. "Things going well? A's?"

"Well, it has only been the first week. There really hasn't been much in terms of grading."

"Ha! I thought that quack Oak was running a legitimate school. I may have to supplement your studies with more private tutors. Are you being challenged enough? Let me call—"

"Oh no dad," Indigo interrupted. "Classes are plenty challenging!" Indigo exclaimed in fear of more work. "We actually already had our first Pokémon battles in class."

"What is your record?"

"8-0"

"Against real opponents or are you just battling against Magenta and Clementine."

Indigo got quiet and looked down. It was hard looking into his father's eyes. It was like being struck by a Thunder wave. Your chest got heavy and your body had to catch up to do what your mind wanted it to.

"At the end of the quarter, you guys have that large tournament I hear. The freshman showdown or something?"

"Yeah, the Showcase," Indigo corrected.

"And what of this student... Teal?"

"How do you know about-"

"When you donate as much money to that school as I do, you can get whatever information you want. He isn't going to be a... an obstacle is he?"

"He is... very good," Indigo said and thought it sounded lame. "He is talented," he corrected.

"But he doesn't have the same resources that you have, does he."

"Ummm, no sir," Indigo spit out.

"And he doesn't have a father who would sacrifice everything to mold him into a Pokemon Champion, does he."

"No sir," Indigo got it out a little quicker this time.

"So, is he going to be a problem?" His father asked finally looking up from his laptop.

"No sir!"

Indigo's father placed an Ultra ball on the table. "Your Magmar. I got it back from the school. Go practice. I'll see you for dinner."

.

.

.

Copper sat alone at the top of the Auditorium seats, replaying the loss in his head. The battle wasn't even close! Copper's opponent didn't even have to show his third Pokémon. He opened up his laptop out of habit and could feel his eyes begin to water. The computer was open to an RPG that he spent 8 hours last night playing.

"UGH!" he groaned to himself in frustration. Copper slammed his computer shut and stared down at the rest of the students still competing.

Today in Battle Techniques class, Professor Pine let the students hold three-on-three battle tournament with each other. It was the same format that the Freshman showcase was going to be. Students were paired up randomly and battled in 3-on-3 battles using random Pokémon chosen by the PC Terminal. Copper was eliminated in the first round.

He heard Jade give off a loud laugh below and his heart dropped even more. Usually her laughter was his favorite thing in the world; a melodic and nerdy cackle that pulled at his heartstrings. Even though he knew it was selfish, he wanted Jade to have been eliminated in an early round too. Her third battle was ending and she was doing phenomenal! On the other side of the auditorium, Teal was finishing his third battle as well. He had a huge grin on his face. He was always smiling.

Teal was annoyingly confident on the battlefield as his Bellsprout dodged a Wing-Attack from his opponent's Spearow. The bird Pokémon flew past the limber plant Pokémon and Teal took this opportunity to counter.

"Vine Whip now, as it's back is turned to you!" Teal yelled.

"Direct hit. Another win for Teal!" yelled an upper-level teaching assistant playing referee.

Jade's fourth battle ended in a win for her too as her Poliwag's hypnosis put down the opposing Pikachu.

"UGH!" Copper moaned to himself.

The finals came to Teal and Jade. Copper left before the battle started. There was too much laughter and joking between the pair for his tastes. He found a quiet classroom and continued his RPG. Five times during the game, he turned it off and opened up a file to his notes. He started looking over his Battle Techniques notes and thinking back to how he lost. After a while he started to reread the same sentence over and over again. Frustrated, he reopened up his game.

Teal must have put in hours of practice and studying, Copper though. He was amazing! And Copper felt like he was just wasting his time after school. Coding, playing games, stupid naps in the middle of the day… All the while Teal was getting better. Copper opened his notes up again.

"Timing attacks," he read out loud thinking about how Spearow exposed its back to Bellsprout after it missed. "AHHH!" he screamed out loud slamming his computer closed again.

"Copper!" Jade floated into the room. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Did you see? I came in second!"

"Hey!" Copper feigned enthusiasm. "You were amazing!"

"I was okay, but you should have seen Teal! I mean, its like he is always two moves ahead of you!"

"Haha, yeah he's really good!" The faking was almost painful to Copper.

"You okay? I heard you scream."

"Yeah... Video game. You know…" He let out a pathetic faux laugh.

"Did you hear that we are getting the rest of the afternoon free? A bunch of us are getting ice cream!"

"That's nice, but you go on ahead. I have so much work to do," he lied.

"You ready Jade?" Teal's annoying green head popped into the room.

"You sure you can't come Copper?" Jade pleaded.

"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!" Copper had no idea why he said it three times. He thought it came out as a high-pitched mess. "I don't even like ice cream," he lied.

.

.

.

Merlot was steaming. She lost to Clementine of all people in the first round of today's Battle Techniques class. Sure, it was only practice for the Freshman Showcase, but come on! Clementine! And then she had to sit in the stands as Jade made goo-goo eyes and joked around with Teal. She stormed into the bathroom upset after her lost.

There were two upper-classman girls in there already. Merlot shot daggers at them through her eyes and they cleared out. She turned to the mirror.

"I am beautiful! I am smart! I am an amazing Pokémon Trainer! Any man would be happy to be with me!" She let out a roar as she stomped back and forth around the bathroom. Her next victim was the garbage can that she kicked across the room. "And who does he choose? Sweet, innocent, naïve Jade?" she said mockingly. "Oh yeah Teal, I bet that's what makes you feel like a man! Having a sweet little damsel to rescue!"

Merlot stormed out of the bathroom. She would not let tears escape her eyes. In her mind, tears were reserved for victims and Merlot was a predator. Her class was holding class in Arena Green, so she went to Arena Blue. She put in her Student ID into one of the terminals and withdrew three randomly chosen Pokémon.

"Freshman showcase is in one month," she said to the empty auditorium and threw out a Pokémon. "May the best woman win!"


	7. Chapter 7

Midterm Exam: Round 1 – Timing Attacks

Copper stood there with his hands clenched, staring across the arena at Teal. Teal was stretching and then proceeded to do knee raises. Although there were exams going on in all four auditoriums, it seemed like most of the school was in Arena Yellow. A low chant of "Teal- Teal! He's for real!" went through the stadium.

"Ugh, I hate him," Copper thought. The computer monitor reeled as it randomly selected three Pokémon from the "Introduction to Battle Techniques" list.

I

I

 _Copper was zoning out in the cafeteria as a group of students put up a banner that read, "Freshman Showcase 1 Month away." A few students from his class ran into the cafeteria in a ruckus, crossing right past him to a back table to join their friends._

 _"Hey did you hear? That first year Teal just defeated Sierra!" an excited boy shouted as he entered._

 _"Sierra? You don't mean the upperclassman from the Battle Team?" responded someone else from the group._

 _"Yeah, he wiped the floor with her during Open Gym! And now he is winning in a match against Bronze!"_

 _"What! He is facing Bronze? But Bronze is a Senior!"_

 _"And the Captain of the Battle Team!"_

 _Copper rolled his eyes and continued eating lunch, pretending he couldn't hear the commotion over his headphones. The crowd ran from the lunchroom to witness another chapter of "The Amazing Teal Chronicles"._

 _I_

 _I_

"First move goes to the Red Corner," Professor Pine said pointing towards Teal. Teal reached for a Pokeball from the terminal and selected his first Pokémon.

"Go Shellder!" The purple bivalve Pokémon exploded out of its Pokeball and landed with a thud at the Red side of the arena. There were "whoops" from a group of girls in the auditorium.

Copper took off his headphones and put them on the terminal. The computer finished generating his three pokemon; Mankey, Doduo, and Bellsprout. "Go Bellsprout!"

Copper chose his Pokémon for the type advantage and waited anxiously for Teal to make his move.

"Icy Wind," Teal let out calmly and a cold breeze erupted from Shellder in a cone towards Bellsprout. The attack hit Bellsprout head on and Copper could see his Plant-Pokémon dig its roots in deeper to avoid being blown away. He remembered from Pokémon Ecology that this as a strategy that plants do in the wild to avoid being uprooted during storms.

"Bellsprout, relax your grip. Roll with it," Copper ordered. He knew that restraining against the attack would lead to Bellsprout taking more damage. He was considering the physics of the attack in his head and was calculating vector arrows. Bellsprout rolled backwards, relaxing his grip on the ground. The Icy Wind passed and it was time to counterattack. Bellsprout straightened itself out as the last of the Icy Wind spread, "Razor Leaf now!"

Bellsprout fired out a round of leaves from his sides.

"How textbook," Teal sneered as the leaves glanced off of Shellders shell. "Withdraw!"

"Keep up the Razor Leaf!" Copper thought back to classes. Razor Leaf is a Light-Attack, so it could be fired multiple times in succession where as Icy Wind was a Heavy-Attack that needed time to launch. Bellsprout continued to fire leaves as Shellder and Teal waited patiently.

The time between razor leaf hits was getting longer and longer as Bellsprout tired. Teal took his opportunity to attack. "Tackle!" he screamed as Shellder launched its body across the battlefield.

"Bellsprout move!"

"Icy Wind! Let's Go!"

Shellder flew across the arena faster than Copper thought was possible for a Pokémon without any legs. Bellsprout kicked out from under it with a vine whip attack to the ground. Shellder hit the ground with a thud, turned, and hit Bellsprout directly with another Icy Wind attack.

"Bellsprout is unable to battle," called the referee. "Shellder is the winner."

I

I

 _There had been many Open-Gym sessions the weeks before the Freshman Showcase but Copper had not been taking full advantage. It wasn't because he was being lazy but more because he was embarrassed to have matches in front of his classmates. It was now one week before the Showcase and Copper decided he needed to put in some practice time._

 _Teal was finishing up a double battle with some upperclassman. He was laughing and having a good time. Teal looked to be in his element; confident and holding his own using high-level combinations. He finished his battle and shook hands with the opponents he defeated. All the while smiling his gigantic grin._

 _"Hey, excuse me Teal," Copper interrupted. "Would you be interested in a battle?"_

 _"Oh umm… Hey," Teal said and paused. "I normally would be, but I have to get ready for the Freshman Showcase. There isn't a lot of time, so I really want to make sure that I work with students who are better than me. You know, to get better myself."_

 _"Oh yeah! Yeah- yeah!" he exclaimed, unintentionally frantic. "No problem. I get you."_

 _"Yeah. I kind of envy you," Teal replied. "You don't have to worry about the Showcase, since you are entering the Technology Program. We Battle kids have it rough!" He laughed._

 _"Haha, yeah." Copper faked a laugh back._

 _I_

 _I_

Copper was frustrated. His first Pokémon was down and he barely put a scratch on Shellder. "Go Doduo!" he screamed as the two-headed bird Pokémon prepared for battle. He chose to go with speed to get around Shellder's high defense. He had a plan in his head to accrue speed bu using Agility and eventually get a fury attack going.

"Icy Wind again!"

"Agility!"

Doduo ran the length of the arena. Shellder positioned itself with a corner of the arena to his back, the textbook strategy when facing an opponent that is faster than you. Copper expected this and put his strategy into motion.

"Get behind it," and Doduo wedged itself between Shellder and the corner of the auditorium, but it was not Copper who had set up a trap. Teal had expected this strategy and already had Shellder turning, poised to attack the corner at close range.

Doduo, being a flying type was weak to ice. If Copper could kick himself, he would have. He was now down to his last Pokémon as Doduo went down to an Icy Wind.

I

I

 _Copper knocked on Professor Pine's door. It was the last five minutes of her Office Hours, and she was packing up to go to her next class._

 _"Excuse me Professor, I was hoping to register for the Freshman Showcase."_

 _"Hello Copernicus," Professor Pine greeted him. "You know the Showcase is only needed for students who want to enter the Trainer Program."_

 _"Yes. I know. I put a lot of thought into it. I want to be a Pokémon Trainer."_

 _I_

 _I_

Copper's last Pokémon was Mankey. The squirrely monkey Pokémon jumped around the arena. The cheers for Teal were deafening. A chant of Teal's name started going through the Auditorium again. Copper could see Teal's gigantic grin from across the stadium as he waved to his fans.

Copper held up his last Pokeball and recalled Mankey, forfeiting the match. He ran out of the arena and into the hallway. Behind him, the announcer named Teal the victor. He found the first empty classroom that he could find. He reached into his bag for his computer and opened it up, more by instinct than anything else. He put on his headphones and plugged them into his computer. He didn't know what else to do with himself. His game opened up. His character stood there; tall, muscular, and good-looking holding a beautiful woman with Green-hair. He closed his computer screen and put his head down on it.


	8. Chapter 8

Midterm Exams: Round 4 – Type Effectiveness

Magenta had just finished his Third match in the Yellow Auditorium. It was an easy victory, just like his first few wins. He rounded the hallway whistling a smug song.

"Mag!" he heard a scream behind him. "Come with me!" Indigo said angrily grabbing his arm.

"What's your problem man?"

"Not here!"

The two of them walked around until they found an empty classroom. It was the History Lecture hall. Indigo looked around, "You're being too obvious," he whispered.

"Oh come on! I only have to make it to the Fifth Round to be guaranteed a spot in the program."

"Three fire-types against a team of bugs and grass types! And then Three water-types against a team of ground and fire types! The idea was to stack the battles _slightly_ in our favor. We are _going_ to get caught."

"You worry too much Indigo. You paid all that money to those Techy Upperclassman, but you haven't even used the app yet. Relax, when I get past the fifth round I'll chill out."

"Mag, we could get expelled."

"I know. But you saw right! Merlot beat Clem last round. And that was with us cheating!" he almost screamed. "She needs to hope to get one of the Professor saves to get into the program."

"Let me see your Tablet," Indigo demanded and looked at a running program. "Mag!" he screamed as he read through the app.

"Hey, I face Teal next round," Mag said drolly. "I don't know what you expect me to do!"

Indigo scowled.

Mag watched across the stadium as the computer "randomly" selected Teal's Pokémon team. He tried the best he could to control his smirk. Teal seemed unperturbed.

"The first move goes to the Blue Corner!"

Teal selected his first Pokémon, "Go Poliwag!"

Poliwag emerged onto the battlefield, and not even a second later was staring down Mag's first Pokémon, a Pikachu. Magenta's hands shook in anticipation. He had the type advantage in this match up, and knew he'd have the type advantage for the rest of the battle as well. He stood there anxiously as Teal considered his first move.

"Poliwag, spread out a bubble attack in front of you!"

Mag recognized this strategy as something from the Defensive Strategies lecture about setting up. Mag didn't prescribe too much to modern battle theory. He appreciated old school battle techniques. He grew up watching trainers like Lance and Red who would come at their opponents straight on with speed and power.

The bubbles created a curtain between Poliwag and Pikachu, but Mag could still make out the tadpole Pokémon between the shifting bubbles.

"Thundershock!" and Pikachu sent out a bolt of electricity through the curtain of bubbles. Bubbles popped and cleared in the middle of the field. But Poliwag wasn't there anymore. It had dove into the bubbles and used them as cover. Teal and Poliwag were using the bubbles to get closer to Pikachu.

"Hypnosis!" Poliwag jumped out of the bubble screen and right in front of Pikachu. The swirl on his stomach began to spin and Pikachu began to lose balance.

"Fight it Pikachu! Get away! Use Agility!"

But it was too late. Pikachu's eyes were already closing.

"Don't give it time to recover!" Teal screamed. "Double Slap!" And Poliwag began its onslaught on Pikachu. First a tail to the side, then a kick to the face. It was a multi-attack and each one landed beautifully on the dazed Pikachu.

"Pikachu is unable to battle. Poliwag is the winner!" screamed the announcer. The audience went wild.

Magenta switched to his second Pokémon, a Voltorb. Teal started with the same strategy, a screen of bubbles between Poliwag and Voltorb. Mag waited for the bubbles to clear away this time. They slowly floated above the battlefield and gave Mag a clear shot at Poliwag.

"Spark!" and Voltorb shot forward, an electrically charged battering ram aimed towards Poliwag.

"Jump Poliwag!" and Poliwag jumped higher than one would expect a Pokémon with such short legs to move. It jumped and landed onto the top of the rising bubbles, now maybe 10 feet above the battlefield. Poliwag jumped bubble to bubble, above Voltorb. Each bubble popping in succession as it found position over the electric-ball Pokemon.

"Don't lose sight of it Voltorb!"

"Hit it now!" and Poliwag descended down firing a bubble attack.

"Spark!" and Voltorb jumped up to meet Poliwag, popping the bubbles that descended towards it with its electric coat. When Voltorb reached the apex of its jump, Mag expected it to find Poliwag, but Poliwag was not there.

"Where are you looking Mag?" Teal goaded with a laugh.

"Voltorb, behind you!" Magenta couldn't believe it. This was a Beginner's Battle Technique move! Feint one way and attack your opponent from another side. And he fell for it. Voltorb took another bubble attack. Then Hypnosis.

"Voltorb is unable to battle. Poliwag is the winner!"

Magenta was furious. He had set this battle up so that Teal wouldn't have a chance. But now he was down to only one Pokémon.

"Go Magnemite!" Magenta snarled. Teal's expression still hadn't changed. He didn't regard Mag at all. Instead, it was as if he was working out some puzzle in his head. He watched Poliwag as it swayed back and forth on its feet. The Magnet Pokémon floated above the battlefield waiting for its opponent's attack.

Teal set up the same strategy; a shield of bubbles.

"Sonic Boom!" and a wave of sound struck through the bubbles and popped every one. Poliwag had no time to move.

"Thundershock!" He followed up his first move quickly and caught Poliwag off guard. A bolt of electricity zapped the Poliwag where it stood.

"Poliwag is unable to battle. Magnemite is the winner."

Magenta knew that even though Teal had two Pokémon left, one of them was a Magikarp that only knew Splash. This match was his for the winning.

"Go Krabby," and Teal called out his second Pokémon.

"Thundershock!" Mag screamed eager to end this.

"Harden," Teal said calmly as the electric attack landed on Krabby. Teal closed his eyes for a second and considered Krabby. A small crustacean Pokémon. Doesn't hit very hard but has a tough exoskeleton.

"Thundershock!" the second electric attack came down.

"Dodge left!" Teal knew water Pokémon. He knew their strengths and their natures. Internally he laughed thinking how Jade would approve of his strategy. In the wild, Krabby scuttle left and right to defend territories on the beach. He was using a young male Krabby with only two attacks. "Hey Krabby! You are a shore guardian!" Teal screamed above the roar of the crowd. "This guy wants your beach? What do you say we give it to him!"

Krabby snapped his claws in response and was fired up.

"Thundershock!" And this one hit Krabby head on. The computer terminal told Teal that Krabby was in the red, but it didn't matter. They only needed one attack. Their opponent – Magnemite; powerful, tough exterior, smart, but not very fast.

"Vicegrip!" And Krabby jumped forward, right claw extended. He hit Magnemite head on and snapped his claw. There was a sound that Mag did not expect. It was like the sound of metal on metal. Magnemite fell to the ground.

The announcer didn't know what to say. He didn't expect that the match was going to end with that attack. The entire stadium was quiet until Professor Pine got up from the stands and raised her arm towards Teal.

"Umm… Magnemite is unable to battle," the announcer, a second year Communications major, started. "The winner is Krabby. The winner is the Blue Corner… and Teal advances to the Semifinals!"

Krabby snapped his claws haughtily as Teal picked him up. "I knew you had it in you. I think you just learned Guillotine!"

Magenta crossed the stadium to shake hands with Teal.

"I know what you did," Teal whispered to him with a smile. "Next time maybe three Magicarps? That'll make it more fair." And with a wink Teal disappeared into a crowd of his classmates running onto the field to congratulate him.

Now the entire school was aggregated to the Green Arena.

"I now present to you, your Semifinalists!" Jade, Teal, Indigo, and Merlot stood in the middle of the auditorium to the cheers of their peers and teachers.


	9. Chapter 9

Semifinals Match 1: Feints and Counterattacks.

Jade was extremely frustrated. Everything she tried, Merlot had a counter for. Koffing's smokescreen bought Jade some time, but Merlot's Spearow was waiting on the other side of the veil.

"You can run my dear," Merlot taunted from the other side of the curtain of smoke.

"You are doing beautifully Koffing," Jade said to her Pokémon, floating exhausted in front of her. "We are going to counterattack when the smoke clears. Catch your breath buddy."

"Kof, Koffing."

The smoke began to dissipate and Jade surmised that they had another few seconds to catch their breath. She had one Pokémon after Koffing, but that Pokémon had already taken a lot of damage.

"Spearow is a flying type," Jade started to think to herself. "A bird of prey. A predator. They attack from above and like to hunt as a flock. Come on… I know there is something there." But before she could finish her thought, Spearow came bursting through the veil of smoke.

"Peek-a-boo," Merlot mocked as Spearow landed a Fury attack, raking at Koffing with its talons. Koffing was caught off guard and hit the ground hard. Spearow landed on Koffing and continued its onslaught.

"Ugh! Return," Jade said as she called back Koffing into his Pokeball.

"And now the Blue corner only has one Pokémon left compared to the Red corner's two remaining Pokémon," the announcement came from Senior Communications major Peridot at the Commentator's Box.

"Thanks," Jade said frustrated, gripping her last Pokéball. "Go Growlithe!"

Growlithe, the fire dog Pokémon, burst out of the Pokeball. Growlithe was fatigued after having taken a Slowpoke's Water Gun attack earlier in the match.

Spearow was flying in circles above Growlithe. Jade and Growlithe watched the bird-Pokémon stalk while they waited for Merlot to give a command. This was well in line with Merlot's usual battle strategies. She was like a Meowth playing with a wounded Pidgey as it tried to hop away. Merlot had one hand on her hip and watched as Jade and Growlithe stood there; prey items to be picked apart.

"It is the Blue corner's turn to call an attack, but the blue trainer is-"

"Stop pretending you don't know my name Peri," Merlot said over to the Commentator's box with a wink. His face flushed red.

"Merlot," interrupted Professor Pine, performing the duty of referee for this match. "If you don't make a move now, you forfeit your turn and it will be Jade's turn to take an action."

"Ugh, fine. Spearow! Dive!" And the bird Pokémon turned on a wing and dove straight for Growlithe.

Jade was still thinking as the Bird Pokémon dove. "Spearow have amazing eyesight. They rely heavily on it to catch prey. We need to start thinking like prey," she thought to herself. "Growlithe run!"

And Growlithe ran towards the Red side of the arena. Spearow pulled up with amazing grace and followed behind Growlithe.

"Don't let that mutt escape!"

"Zig and Zag baby!" Jade screamed.

Growlithe was exhausted and didn't much like the idea of running from a battle. Growlithe filled a similar niche to Spearow in the wild. They were pack hunters that specialized in surrounding their prey.

"Growlithe! We are not Prey Items! Double Zag!" And with that Growlithe zigged left and then went left again. Spearow recovered from the feint and was right on top of Growlithe.

"Fury Attack!"

"Ember!"

And with a flash of fire, orange fur, and lost feathers – Spearow fell to the ground.

"And now both trainers are at One Pokémon each!" The crowd was deafeningly loud, anxiously awaiting the end of the match.

"Thanks Sherlock," Merlot snarled and grabbed her last Pokeball from the terminal. "Go Abra."

Growithe was exhausted and had just taken a powerful hit from Spearow. Jade knew that Fury Attack was a multi-hit attack that struck in small spurts. She purposefully let Growlithe take the first hit to land a counter attack. It was a risky maneuver, but it paid off. Unfortunately, now they were staring down a fresh Pokémon that had not previously battled.

"First move goes to Merlot."

Merlot stretched her arms into the air. She let out a soft moan as if she were bored with the battle.

"Merlot, if you don't make a move, you know you forfeit your turn and it will be Jade's turn to take an action." started Professor Pine annoyed.

"Whatever," Merlot rolled her eyes. "Be my guest Princess."

"Gladly!" Jade yelled. "Bite its face off Growlithe!"

Growlithe charged at Abra. Jade knew very little about this opponent. Even the textbooks were deficient in knowledge about Abra. She knew they were Psychic types that slept for something like 18 hours a day. Even now, its eyes were closed as it sat down in front of Merlot. Merlot closed her eyes and breathed out calmly.

Growlithe reached Abra at the Red side of the arena and went to strike down. Its teeth were left snapping at nothing as Abra vanished. Jade and Growlithe looked left and right and found it sitting right in front of Jade across the auditorium, back in the Blue Corner.

"Growlithe, turn around!" Growlithe turned around and saw Abra sitting in front of Jade, its eyes still closed. "It must have Teleported. Get him!"

Growlithe continued chasing Abra around the auditorium. Each time he was just a little bit slower and Abra would appear at the other end of the arena. Jade had to change strategies. She was playing into Merlot's game. Growlithe was running low on steam while Merlot was only playing with them. Trying to embarrass her?

"Growlithe! Keep it up! Bite!"

"You are like a broken record."

Growlithe charged to the other side of the arena and once again was left snapping at thin air. "Ember to the back left of the field!"

And the Ember shot out towards the Blue side of the arena. The fireball exploded, making contact with its target the second it appeared. Jade correctly predicted where Abra would appear based on its last few teleportations. "Follow it up with a bite attack!"

Growlithe crossed the arena again and Jade started to think about how many times Growlithe had traversed the length of the battlefield already. Once again the Bite was too slow and Abra teleported again. And again Growlithe countered with an Ember across the auditorium. Merlot and Abra had wised up and even the Ember attacks were no longer hitting.

"Bite!"

"Sigh…"

Growlithe ran at Abra again, struck at thin air, and looked for Abra behind him. But this time they didn't see Abra. Abra did not teleport the length of the field. Instead it had teleported a meter to Growlithe's left.

"No!" Jade shrieked frustrated, falling into Merlot's trap.

"Confusion Attack Abra!"

Abra's hands glowed with purple light. Jade knew that Growlithe couldn't take another hit. Growlithe and Jade both closed their eyes and waited for the end of the match.

Merlot let out a cackle. "Just kidding." Abra put its hands down and didn't release its Psychic attack. Instead it sat back down and Teleported to Merlot's side, both eyes still closed.

There was quiet in the auditorium for a second before Peridot came on the loudspeaker. "Merlot has forfeited the match. Jade is the winner! Jade advances to the Final match!"

Merlot recalled Abra and laughed again, even louder this time. "The poor thing only knows the one attack. Good match Jade."

They met in the middle of the arena to shake hands. Merlot walked confidently over. Jade stuck out her hand hesitantly, but Merlot went to hug her instead, pulling Jade in close.

"I'm sure you know that you aren't 2-0 against me," Merlot whispered, wrapping a tighter embrace around Jade as if she were in a Bind attack. "The way I see it, I won today. The way I see it, we are even and I am going to show this school that I am queen."

"Umm… Thank you."

Merlot raised Jade's hand up and presented her to the crowd of their peers.


	10. Chapter 10

Semifinals Match 2: Damage Categories

"You got this Indigo!" Magenta cheered as he rubbed Indigo's shoulders. The entire school was in the stands cheering wildly before the match started.

"He _is_ really good," Clementine supplied. "Did you take out any… _insurance_ on this match?"

"Ugh, you guys are so annoying." Indigo responded. "Let me worry about Teal."

"Did you see Bronze and the other members of the Battle Team in the stands?" Mag chimed in. That only succeeded in increasing Indigo's frustration. He knew that Bronze and Teal had been practicing together in the weeks before the tournament and there was talk about giving Teal a position on the Varsity Battle team.

"Who will join Jade in the finals?!" The announcer, a Third-Year that Indigo didn't know, started with enthusiasm over the loudspeaker. "In the Red Corner we have Teal from Fuchsia City and in the Blue corner is Indigo from Viridian City!"

Indigo took in a deep breath as he looked over his randomly selected Pokémon team. "Not a bad team. I can work with this."

"Blue Corner, the first move is yours," announced Professor Pine who was officiating the match.

Indigo selected his first Pokémon: Cubone. The small mammal Pokémon swung its bone-club around anxiously. The crowd began another one of those annoying Teal chants, but it didn't effect Indigo's concentration.

"Go Caterpie!" Teal called out his first Pokémon, the small caterpillar Pokémon. It crawled sleepily towards the center of the arena.

"Bone-merang!" Indigo called out his first attack as Cubone threw his bone at the opponent. Caterpie dodged the bone easily. It skimmed off the floor, past Teal, and towards the stands.

"Counter with Tackle before the bone returns to him!" Teal commanded over the roaring crowd.

"Yeah, like that's our only offensive. Head-butt!" Indigo and Cubone countered.

Caterpie and Cubone charged at each other, their heads down. They were about to collide when Teal yelled at Caterpie to slide left. Caterpie turned its body and slid past Cubone on its back. Head-butt missed as Cubone's head slammed into the arena floor. The thud was loud and Caterpie used the time to recover with a roll.

"Cubone! Get up and bash that Caterpie!" The bonemerang was on its return path towards Cubone. Cubone raised his arm to catch it.

"Stringshot the bone!" Teal commanded and Caterpie intercepted the returning weapon by capturing it in silk. Cubone was left holding his hand out as the bone missed and flung towards Caterpie. "Now let him have it!"

The bone swung around the arena, still tethered to the silk string, and Caterpie brought it down hard on Cubone's skull. Cubone staggered backwards and Caterpie took the advantage to hit the opponent's center with a Tackle. Cubone fell back hard.

"Cubone is unable to battle!" The announcement was barely audible over the crowd. "Caterpie is the winner!"

Indigo swore loudly, while memories of Mag's fight swum through his head. Indigo had indeed taken out _insurance_ in this match like Mag and Clem suggested. He just hoped his attempts at subtlety weren't holding him back too much.

"Go Doduo!" Indigo replaced his feinted Pokémon.

Teal recalled Caterpie and chose his Magikarp, the regal fish Pokémon. Indigo knew better than to underestimate anything that Teal did. He wanted to tie the battle up quickly.

"Doduo! Use Peck!" And the large, two-headed, bird Pokémon charged towards Magikarp. Then the weirdest thing happened, instead of calling out an attack, Teal began to roar and make assorted Pokémon calls. "FEAROW! RAAAWRR!"

As Doduo approached from the front, Teal startled Magikarp from behind. It had nowhere to run so Magikarp began to flail madly. The Doduo dove at the large fish, both heads attempting to snap down on Magikarp. Magikarp flopped itself in between the two heads frantically, and sent both heads reeling backwards with a wild flail of its tail. The two heads collided hard as they tried to recover and capture the large fish Pokémon. They then started to snap at each other in frustration.

"What are you guys doing!?" Indigo screamed. Teal recalled Magikarp and brought Caterpie back out.

The crowd was now louder than ever and had finally agreed on a cheer of, "Teal Teal, fear his zeal! Teal Teal, the real deal!"

Indigo knew from ecology class that bird Pokémon favored bug-types as a food source. "Doduo," he screamed with insight trying to get his Pokémon's attention. "A tasty morsel just presented itself to you."

"String Shot Caterpie!" and Caterpie shot a string of silk high, connecting the two Doduo's heads at the neck. Doduo have a brain in each head, and being in closer proximity aggravated the initial feud from the Magikarp attack. The two Doduo continued to peck at each other as Caterpie tied their feet together with another string shot. Indigo fought the urge to call back his Pokémon. He didn't want to play into Teal's plan.

"Doduo!" Indigo screamed again in frustration. "Your opponent is in front of you! Stop fighting!" But it was too late. Caterpie came charging at Doduo with a Tackle. Doduo's feet were still tied, and it fell backwards hard.

"Doduo is unable to battle! Caterpie is the winner!"

Indigo clenched his last Pokeball hard. He tried to stack this battle against Teal, but now he felt like he was too conservative in this effort. "Is Teal really this much better of a Trainer than I am?"

.

.

.

 _Indigo was on his way out the door. The car was waiting outside to take him back to school and he had a bag full of meals that the cook prepared._

 _"Indigo," a loud booming voice called from the top of the stairs. It was Indigo's father. "Are you leaving back to school now?"_

 _"Yes sir," Indigo responded quickly._

 _"Showcase battles begin Tuesday correct?"_

 _"Yes sir."_

 _Then Indigo's father did something strange. He sat down on the bottom of the stairs and looked Indigo in the eyes._

 _"I am very proud of the young man that you are becoming," he started and tears filled his eyes._ _"Do you know why I named you Indigo?"_

 _"Because it is the location of the Pokémon League..." Indigo replied hesitantly._

 _"Because it is the location where I lost the Pokémon League Championship. You are my redemption. You do not have the privilege to play games like the rest of your classmates. You need to be better than them. And they need to understand that they are all playing for second."_

 _He paused and stared Indigo down._

 _"Do you understand me?"_

 _"Yes sir," Indigo let out feebly._

 _._

 _._

 _._

"Go Geodude!" Indigo's final Pokémon exploded out of the Pokéball. The Rock Pokémon hit the ground with a hard thump.

"Caterpie!" Teal called out. "String Shot!"

Geodude rocketed through Caterpie's net of string and slammed into the small bug Pokémon with a powerful Tackle.

"Caterpie is unable to battle," Professor Pine announced. "The winner is Geodude."

"Eevee!" Teal called out his next Pokémon. The small fox Pokémon gave an excited "yip" as it entered the battlefield.

"Geodude! Keep it up!"

"Sand-Attack Eevee!"

Geodude tucked its arms in and rocketed toward Eevee with impressive force. Eevee kicked up a sheet of dust toward the warhead that was Geodude.

The dust cleared and Eevee was lying on the ground.

"Get up Eevee!" Teal screamed as Geodude turned around to deliver another tackle attack. "We need another Sand-Attack!"

Geodude swung around and came for another pass on Eevee. Eevee kicked up another shroud of dust towards Geodude and barely jumped out of the way of the oncoming Pokémon. This continued for another three passes, each time Geodude came closer and closer to hitting Eevee. And each time Eevee kicked up more and more sand towards its opponent.

"Alright," Teal called Eevee to attention. "New strategy! Growl!"

Eevee let out a meager yap of a growl as Geodude came for Eevee again. Geodude missed wildly this time, blinded by the successive rounds of Sand-Attack.

"Growl again!"

"Flatten that little fox Geodude!"

The sand cleared as Eevee hit the ground. "Eevee is unable to battle," Professor Pine raised her arm to the Blue side of the Auditorium. "Geodude is the winner."

"And with that, Indigo has tied the battle!" the announcer came over the loud speaker again.

"Teal, call out your last Pokémon," Professor Pine asked. Teal stared blankly at the Computer Terminal for a minute before Professor Pine called out to him again. He raised his head, pressed a button, and walked out of the arena. The audience was left stunned. The last announcement of the match was called out over the loud speaker.

"Teal has forfeited the match! The winner and second finalist in the Freshman Showcase is Indigo!"


	11. Chapter 11

Final Round: Status Ailments

Copper ran frantically through the halls. The rest of the school was empty because everyone was at the showcase. Well, almost everyone. He rounded the corner and finally reached room 318. This was the room where Pokeballs were stored and sorted for the Battle Arenas. It was a large library with shelves that held Pokeballs; organized by Pokémon type. The shelves were automated and connected to a large computer in the middle of the room: the server for the Battle Arenas. Copper heard laughter coming from the center of the room.

Copper crept through an aisle of shelves and saw Clementine and Magenta on the main computer. He listened, hidden behind a shelf labeled "Water-Type Pokémon Go-Kr."

"Give her all bug-types," Magenta suggested as Clementine typed away on the terminal.

"No! They are way too versatile," Clem disagreed. "She'll figure out some way around it. I say we go all Normal-"

"But if we give Indigo fire-types-"

Copper had suspected something was up after Magenta and Indigo's respective last matches. Copper had never been in this room before and was admiring how large it was. It was organized like a library with tall racks forming rows at right angles around this central terminal. He moved in closer to hear the rest of the conversation when a hand touched his shoulder.

"I'm not going to cheat in this round," the voice came from behind Copper. Copper jumped in the air, his heart in his throat. He hit his arm into the shelf and tripped over his feet. Now the trio were standing over Copper.

"What do you want to do with him Indigo?"

"He knows too much. Put him in the closet."

.

Jade stood across from Indigo and considered her options for her first Pokémon. She then looked to the stands to see her classmates screaming and cheering. She breathed in deeply.

"And now for the final match of the Freshman Showcase! We have Jade from Pallet Town Vs. Indigo from our very own Viridian City!"

The audience went mad at this announcement. Jade's heart beat even faster. The first move was Indigo's.

"Go Nidoran!" Indigo yelled as the pink-horned quadruped Pokémon popped onto the battlefield.

"Get em Ditto!" Jade countered using the transformation Pokémon.

Nidoran charged at Ditto with a Horn-Attack. Ditto transformed into a Nidoran and charged towards Indigo's Nidoran in return. They were scheduled to collide when Jade called for Ditto to transform back into a Ditto.

"Nidoran are better at fighting as Nidoran than Ditto are," Jade said to herself as Ditto transformed back. Jade knew that Indigo's Nidoran was a male, and males are very territorial. They compete for mates by dueling with their horns on open fields. If Ditto had combatted Nidoran horn to horn, Ditto would be at a disadvantage.

With a plop, Ditto transformed back into its pink putty form. Nidoran missed the smaller target, and charged past Ditto.

"Ditto," Jade screamed. "Transform and use Horn Attack!"

Jade caught Indigo off guard with this strategy. Indigo's Nidoran had not yet regained its balance from the charge and took a Horn Attack to its side. With a roll, Nidoran tried to get its feet under itself again.

"Ditto, keep up the attack!"

Indigo's Nidoran finally got back to its feet and jumped out of the way of the transformed Ditto. The two Nidoran circled each other.

.

.

At the other end of the school Teal was making his way to room 318. He wanted to check the Server room for the Battle Arenas to make sure Indigo was not tilting this battle in his favor. As he made his way through the racks of Pokeballs, he heard Clementine and Magenta near the server's computer terminal. They were watching the match as Jade's Ditto finally put down Indigo's Nidoran. Indigo switched to his second Pokémon, a Drowzee.

"He said he'd give us a signal if he needed us, but come on!" Mag pleaded to the screen.

"No," Clem said through clenched teeth. "He wants to win this one on his own."

On the screen Jade's Ditto, in the form of a Nidoran still, charged at Drowzee. Clem and Magenta were focused on the match. "Damn it Indigo!" Mag screamed at the screen as Drowzee landed a Pound Attack on Nidoran. Jade had let Drowzee get in close so that Nidoran's ability, Poison Point, could activate. Contact with the points on Nidoran's body transferred poison into Drowzee. "We just had the lecture on Pokemon Abilities! What are you doing Indigo!"

"Drowzee is poisoned!" Clem exclaimed. "He's _has to_ give us the signal now?"

Teal watched the screen as Indigo raised up his fist and looked directly at the camera.

"Yes!" Magenta yelled as he reached for a purple Pokeball. It was an old looking Ultraball. He went to place it into the central terminal when Teal jumped out.

"Excuse me, you two wouldn't happen to be trying to cheat?"

.

Indigo's second Pokémon was down and he recalled Drowzee. He looked at the terminal and his third Pokémon still read as Staryu.

"What are those two doing?" Indigo began to speak to himself. "I gave them the signal."

"The next move goes to you Indigo," said Professor Pine who was officiating this match as well.

Indigo looked out at Jade's Ditto, now in the form of a Drowzee. She was in complete control of this match. Indigo clenched his fist, finding it hard to believe that Jade was this much better than he is. He looked into the stands and saw the Varsity Battle Team cheering and jumping over each other playfully. Coming down the aisle next to them was a well-dressed man, his father. Indigo's father reached the bottom of the aisle and exited the auditorium.

"Indigo," Professor Pine called out softly, even through the cheers in the auditorium. "Call out your next Pokémon."

"Next Pokémon," a tear almost reached Indigo's eye as he looked at the terminal. There was one Pokeball left in the divot and the terminal said it was still Staryu. His hand shook as he reached for the Pokeball. He stopped himself. "Umm… I'd like to use my time-out," Indigo said pressing a button on the terminal.

"Official rules state that if the opposing Pokémon does not have an accruing status ailment or stacking ability, you may use a 5 minute time out. Would you like to exercise that right now?"

"Yes."

.

Back in room 318 Teal was using a Tentacool that he pulled from a nearby rack to keep Clem and Magenta from the computer terminal. Magenta was controlling an Electabuzz and Clem was using a Graveler.

Tentacool went down to a Thunderpunch attack from Electabuzz, and Teal used this opportunity to move down an aisle of Pokeball racks. Graveler was waiting on the other side, and they had him pinched. He picked up a random Pokeball from the rack and released a Koffing. "Smokescreen!"

In the confusion of the screen, Teal climbed over the rack. He attempted to leave the room but Graveler cut him off again. He spun around on his heels and Electabuzz was there. His only option was to go left through the racks of Fire-Types.

Teal ran, trying to remember the correct series of turns to make it back to the central terminal. He must have made a wrong turn because he found himself at a dead end. He could hear the buzzing of the electricity through Mag's Electabuzz one rack over. At the end of his rack was a dead end, a closet door. From behind the door, Teal could hear a knocking. He opened the door and Copernicus fell out on top of him. He was tied up and gagged.

Clem, Mag, and their Pokémon had caught up with him. Teal went to reach for a Pokeball but Graveler stomped on the ground using the attack Magnitude. The racks fell over as a rain of Pokeballs bombarded Teal and Copper. Teal took this opportunity to untie Copper's legs and they ran to the Computer terminal over the collapsed racks. Teal threw two Pokeballs behind him as they ran. A pair of Growlithe released and roared at Electabuzz and Graveler. They wouldn't hold back Clem and Mag for long.

Teal and Copper made it to the terminal. The battle seemed to be starting up again after a time out. The Purple Ultraball was in the middle divot and being uploaded. Teal went to grab the ball, but it was too late. The Ultraball was being sent to Indigo with an unknown Pokémon.

"Sorry, its too late," Mag cackled. "There is no way that Jade can defeat that Pokémon."

Electabuzz and Graveler closed in on the two boys. They had their backs to the computer terminal and there wasn't a rack of Pokeballs in sight. Copper's hands were still tied and they were both cornered. Teal looked around frantically, but all of the Pokeballs were on racks behind Clem and Mag, all except for three. On the right counter of the terminal was a trio of Pokeballs in a strange holder, something like a test tube rack. Unfortunately, in order to get to those Pokeballs, they still had to pass in front of Magenta and Clementine's Pokemon.

Copper followed Teal's eyes and saw the Pokeballs. An unspoken plan started to form between them. Copper ran left, arms still bound, towards Electabuzz.

"Electabuzz! Grab him!"

A second later Teal sprinted right, towards the Pokeballs. Clem hesitated, not wanting to hit Teal directly with a Pokémon attack. Teal grabbed the nearest Pokeball and released a Pokémon.

The small blue turtle Pokémon, Squirtle, erupted out of its Pokeball and considered his two opponents. They were both larger and closing in on him. Electabuzz was the first to move, dropping Copper and focusing a Thunderpunch at the new combatant. Teal instructed Squirtle to jump onto the counter and move towards Graveler.

Caught between the two Pokémon, Graveler released a Rock Throw attack. Squirtle dived underneath the rocks and slid past Graveler on his shell. The propelled rock found Electabuzz and hit with a hard thud. Teal took this opportunity to throw one of the Pokeballs to Copper who had finally undone his bindings.

Copper caught the Pokeball, but instead of moving to help Teal in the battle, moved towards the computer terminal. The screen showed Indigo's Pokémon, a Magmar, making quick work of Jade's Ditto, currently still in the form of a Drowzee. Copper put the new Pokeball on the computer terminal. It began to load.

"This should help," he said pressing a few buttons on the computer. "Teal, the computer says it needs two minutes to upload the Pokémon to the Battle Arena!"

Squirtle was running atop the racks of Pokeballs, shooting down water attacks at his two opponents.

"Ditto is unable to battle. Magmar is the winner."

Jade knew that Magmar was not a Pokémon on the list of Pokémon that could be randomly selected for the Freshman Showcase. It was at least an Intermediate or Advanced Battle Techniques Level Pokémon. Jade had two Pokémon left. An Oddish and a Horsea.

"Go Oddish!"

Magmar let out a powerful roar as it jumped down at Oddish with a Fire-Punch.

"Oddish run! Run while using Poison Powder!" And Oddish did just that. It ran towards Jade, away from Magmar while spreading a cloud of poison dust in its wake. Magmar was faster and caught up to Oddish quickly.

"Fire-Punch again Magmar!"

"Leech Seed!"

Oddish was sent flying across the battlefield. Jade ran and caught the small plant Pokémon in her arms.

"Oddish is unable to battle. Now both trainers are down to one Pokémon each."

Jade looked down at her last Pokémon. It was Horsea, a water type, so she had the type advantage. But Magmar was powerful.

Jade reached down to the terminal to pick up her last Pokémon, but the Pokeball retreated into the computer instead.

"NO! Not now!" she screamed banging on the computer terminal.

"Jade," Professor Pine said irritated. "If you do not call out your last Pokémon then you are forfeiting this match."

"I know! I know!" She exclaimed kicking the terminal now. "Timeout?"

"You may not use a Time-out Jade," Professor Pine replied annoyed. "Magmar is poisoned. Call out your last Pokémon."

Jade squeezed the sides of the terminal hard and breathed in deeply. The terminal beeped after what seemed like a millennium and a Pokeball finally appeared. "Finally! Go Horsea!"

But it was not a Horsea that appeared. Instead it was a Charmander. A very rare and powerful reptilian Fire-Type Pokémon. The audience was very still until the commentator announced Jade's last Pokémon. The small fire reptile looked at Jade. She straightened up, looking at the intensity of its eyes. The embers on his tail burned, lighting up something in Jade as well.

Magmar jumped at Charmander with a Fire-Punch. Jade instructed Charmander to dive and roll, avoiding the attack. She then instructed Charmander to drop a Smokescreen towards the middle of the arena. Magmar, shrouded in smoke moved back towards his side of the battlefield. Indigo was wary of sneak attacks. A mote of white light was pulled from Magmar and moved into the cloud of smoke. It was at this time that Indigo realized that Oddish's Leech Seed attack had landed and sprouted. Magmar was slowly being drained of energy. That and the fact that Magmar was poisoned pushed Indigo to battle more aggressively.

"Get in there Magmar and finish this!"

Magmar jumped into the smoke shroud as it was beginning to clear. His fist was aflame, as he looked left and right for Charmander. Magmar finally found Charmander across the battlefield and was met with Charmander's Leer attack, an attack that lowered the opponent's defense. Magmar charged at Charmander with another Fire-Punch.

"All you can do is run and hide!" Indigo provoked as Magmar's Fire-Punch finally landed. Charmander was sent rolling back to Jade's side of the field. He got his feet under him and they countered with another Smokescreen. The white light from Magmar pierced through the smoke to give Charmander more of Magmar's energy.

"Leer again Charmander!" Magmar visibly grimaced, a reaction undoubtedly to the poison it its body.

"We need to finish this Magmar! Rip him apart!" And Magmar returned to the smoke, his fist aflame swinging through the shroud. The smoke began to clear slowly and Magmar found Charmander, putting distance between them at the corner of the arena.

"Leer Charmander," Jade commanded as Magmar charged Charmander. Another mote of light moved towards Charmander. "We need to dodge this one!"

And Magmar swung wide. Charmander dove under the punch and found itself to Magmar's side. Indigo instructed Magmar to follow through on the punch. The large Spitfire Pokémon pivoted to bring his burning fist down on Charmander. Charmander met the attack head on with a scratch attack.

The two Pokémon passed each other, Magmar's Fire-Punch grazing Charmander and Charmander's scratch cutting through the side of Magmar's body. The two fiery Pokémon turned to face each other again. Magmar let out a powerful roar as his fist caught flame again. Charmander, on the other hand, was looking weak on his feet. A white mote of light escaped from Magmar again and reached Charmander. Magmar took a step forward and collapsed to the ground.

"Magmar is unable to battle," the announcer began, his voice high and strained with excitement. "Charmander is the winner and Jade is the winner of the Freshman Showcase!"


	12. Chapter 12

Office Hours

Jade sat anxiously in Professor Oak's Office. She rubbed at the warm black fur of a shadowy fox Pokémon under her seat. She recognized it as a rare Pokémon from another region. It yawned and stretched out its bag legs as she found a spot to scratch under the ear. Jade looked around Professor Oak's office in awe. It was covered in certifications, degrees, maps of various regions, exotic books, and pictures of famous researchers, Pokémon trainers, and heroes that Jade had only ever read about. Her eyes were caught on a Pokémon League Championship trophy when the door opened.

"Sorry I'm late," The Professor started as he took his seat opposite Jade behind the large wooden desk. Professor Oak had salted brown hair and a boyish grin that deceived his true age and experience. He was wearing very trendy sneakers and clothes under his lab coat. He spoke slowly and smiled with his entire face when he spoke, like a child excitedly telling a story to a friend. "Oh, I'm sorry young lady. My appointment was with a young woman named Jade. You are way too grown up to be little Jade from Pallet Town."

"Oh stop it Professor Oak! You know its me."

"Haha! Of course," he joked flashing his large white smile. "How's your mom? She staying out of trouble?"

"You know her," Jade replied. "My dad tries the best he can to rein her in, but a Pidgeot has to fly."

"Pidgeot? Your mom is more like a raging Gyarados!"

They joked like that for a few minutes. They talked about the incident in Viridian Forest a few months ago. They talked about Professor Oak's recent travels and research projects. They talked about Jade's favorite classes, current events, and other findings in the scientific community. Jade had grown up with Professor Oak frequently dropping by their house in Pallet Town. She would always look forward to his visits to hear about his adventures in the field. Jade's house had originally been the laboratory of Professor Oak's Grandfather, one of the most famous Pokémon researchers of all time.

"Okay, so Freshman Showcase Champion. Whoa!" Professor Oak exclaimed impressed.

"Yeah," Jade replied somberly.

"What is that!?" Professor Oak cried out laughing. "I heard there was some pretty steep competition this year."

"Yeah. There were a lot of tough students competing," Jade said with her head down.

Professor Oak could tell that she didn't want to talk about the Showcase so he changed the subject. "Well, its time for you to choose your first Pokémon," Professor Oak pulled out a container from under his desk with a trio Pokeballs. He made a drumroll sound as he placed them on his desk.

Jade's eyes were caught on the middle Pokeball. She couldn't take her eyes off of it.

"We have here a trio of extremely rare and powerful Pokémon that can only go to a Trainer who-"

"Professor," Jade interrupted still looking at the middle Pokeball. "I can't accept any of these Pokémon. I shouldn't have won the Showcase."

"If you are talking about the cheating fiasco with Indigo, do not worry. I will make sure that Teal also gets to choose one of these Pokémon."

"Yeah but, I wasn't the only one affected."

"Merlot will also get her choice," Professor Oak said picking up the middle Pokeball. Jade's eyes followed it as he offered it to her. "There can't be any more excuses why I can't give this Pokémon to such a deserving student."

Jade sighed. "Actually, I've been thinking. I have a little bit of an unorthodox request for my Pokémon choice."

.

Professor Oak heard Jade's unorthodox request. It took a little bit of cajoling, but eventually he gave in. "You really are your mother's daughter," he sighed handing her a purple Ultraball. "I'm very proud of you and I'm sure your parents are as well. Smell ya later Jade."

.

Merlot was pacing in the waiting room in front of Professor Oak's office. Her appointment was set for 15 minutes ago, and she hated waiting. Teal finally stepped out of the office, still shaking Professor Oak's hand.

"You take care of that Pokémon now," Professor Oak said bidding farewell to the young trainer.

"Yes sir!" Teal walked out with his eyes still glued to the Pokeball in his hand.

"Hey Teal," Merlot greeted him with a smile. "Did you get a good one?"

Teal continued to look down, oblivious to what Merlot was saying. "Oh hey Merl."

"I wanted to say that you did really well in the Showcase. It really should have been you and me in the Finals."

But Teal did not hear her. He was still looking down at his Pokeball.

"Anyway," Merlot said trying to redirect Teal's attention. "A few of us are going out tonight to celebrate getting into our Programs, getting our first Pokémon, other stuff… You should come!"

"Huh… oh yeah. Hey Merl," Teal said finally bringing his eyes away from his new Pokémon. "Um… Sorry, not tonight. I am going to spend tonight getting to know this little guy."

"Hello. Merlot?" the office assistant interrupted from the front desk. "Professor Oak is ready for you now."

Merlot aimed a scowl in her direction. The assistant dropped the phone and a pen. She then fumbled fantastically- trying to recover her composure. Teal had taken that moment to pass Merlot and leave the office. Merlot stomped a foot in frustration and entered Professor Oak's office.

"Hey!" Professor Oak greeted Merlot warmly with arms wide open for a hug.

Merlot ignored Professor Oak and took her seat in the vacant chair.

"You did really well in the Freshman Showcase Red," Professor Oak said to Jade as he took his seat opposite her. "I am really proud of you."

"How many times did I tell you not to call me Red? My name is Merlot!"

"Sweetie, I'm sorry. I've known you as Red since you were born."

"Well that's not my name anymore Dad!"

Professor Oak sighed heavily looking at his daughter. "I'm sorry. I will do better to remember that in the future."

"Well how can I expect you to remember little things like family?" Merlot responded very calmly regaining her composure. "You are this super busy and important researcher and Professor and Dean of students and who know what other jobs you have."

"Merlot," Professor Oak said calmly. "I was hoping that we could use this time of you attending The Vird to strengthen our relationship."

Professor Oak paused but got no reply.

"I'm very proud of you. I have a choice of two extremely rare and powerful Pokémon that I want to offer you. That and this- " Professor Oak reached under his table and pulled out a small red device. Merlot recognized the device as a Pokedex, her Great-Grandfather's invention. "This one belonged to your mother. I'd like it if you could complete it. I gave one to Teal and one to Jade as well. The three of you have a lot of potential to-"

"Save the mushy stuff for Jade," Merlot interrupted grabbing the Pokedex and the Pokémon she wanted. She then got up and left the office. "Smell ya later Dad."

As she left the office, Indigo was walking in.

"Hey Merlot," he said weakly. Merlot knew that Indigo was in a lot of trouble after having been caught cheating. Merlot had no remorse for him though. She gave him a short nod and continued walking.

"Happy Birthday," Indigo called after her. "It was today right. I'm sure the Freshman Showcase stole some of your thunder – but that's like trying to steal thunder from a Zapdos." He laughed thinly.

Merlot turned on her heels and hugged Indigo tightly. "Thank you Indigo. Good luck in there stupid."

.

Another student had left Professor Oak's office with a Pokeball in hand. Students had been coming in and out all afternoon. There was a line with three more students sitting in the waiting room. Professor Pine stormed into the office, cut the line, and seized the door as it swung open to let in the next student.

"Sorry Copper," she said sliding passed him. "I have urgent business with Professor Oak." And Professor Pine entered the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Hello Professor Pine," Professor Oak greeted with a smile. "I don't believe we have an appointment scheduled?"

"We talked about this," Professor Pine said trying to control her voice. Her fists were clenched and her brow was tight.

"Is this about Indigo?" Professor Oak asked.

"You said you wouldn't expel him! We talked about this! Yeah, he messed up. But we can't let a student like that be out there at a time like this."

"But I spoke with Ceil and he says-,"

"Ceil is FOURTEEN years old!" Professor Pine screamed. "A student as angry and unstable as Indigo is a prime candidate for Team Rocket to pick up! And you know that! If we had time, we could turn him into a positive force in the Pokémon world."

"Look, I'm sorry Violet," Professor Oak said. "It was a difficult call, really. We just have to have faith in Ceil's abilities."

Professor Violet Pine released her clenched fists, took in a deep breath, and spun around towards the door. "You need to start thinking of yourself as an educator. It isn't your job to save the world. Your responsibilities start and end with them."

Professor Pine stormed the halls of the school, needing to blow off steam. She reached the weight room. A group of Machokes was curling dumbells. She reached a bench on the far side of the room.

"One of you spot me," she ordered as she lifted the bar above her chest. "Put 45lbs on each side."

Two Machoke obliged, putting the appropriate weights on the bar. Professor Pine did a set of 11 and placed the bar back on the rack. She then walked over to the punching bag and let loose a few jabs. She didn't hear Copper enter the room.

"Hello Professor," Copper said warily, flinching at the sound of every jab.

Professor Pine then moved back to the bench. "Copernicus, spot me. Put another 10lbs on each side." Copper obliged as Professor Pine started another set, loud groans accompanying the bar at every apex.

"I want to say thank you. Professor Oak told me that you recommended me for the Trainer Program."

Professor Pine moved back to the punching bag again. "Copernicus, the bag," she ordered and Copper held the bag as she continued jabbing. The Machokes in the room had moved to the far wall, pretending to rack weights so to avoid the Professor's fury.

Professor Pine then picked up a jump rope and began a set of jumps while she spoke.

"Do you know why we train Pokémon Copernicus?"

"To compete in the Pokémon League Professor?"  
"But do you know why? Why the Pokémon League exists?"

"Yes Professor, we talked about it in Pokémon History. Something about there having been unrest in wild Pokémon, so the first Pokémon trainers used to train wild Pokémon to let out their excess aggression."

"Yes. Unrest is a good way to put it. All Pokémon have an innate desire to prove their selves. They want to pair with trainers to reach their full potential. It is the job of the trainer to wrench out that latent potential. They say that almost every Pokémon has evolution tied to their life cycle in some way. Pokémon are always striving to be their best self. And it is the job of the Pokémon trainer to mirror that endeavor and evolve too."

Copernicus pulled out a notebook and started to write down what Professor Pine was saying, until she snatched the notebook out of his hand.

"You are a complete mess in Battle Strategies Class. I don't think you've won a single match all year? But during that first match of the Freshman Showcase…" Professor Pine struggled for the words. "There wasn't a single trainer that held their own against Teal as well as you did. Well, not without cheating."

"He crushed me Professor."

Professor Pine laughed, a sound Copper had never heard before. "Yes he did. But you showed some real fire. It was the best I had ever seen you battle. And that's what Teal needs, someone to push him."

"So you are recommending me into the program to be Teal's punching bag?"

"Yes and no," Again she was stuck for words. She put down the jump rope and started on a rowing machine. "I remember when you applied to the Academy Copernicus. Your application was less that impressive." She took a second to look at Copernicus. His head was down in defeat. "I wrote the code for the program that sorts applications. And I remember this green icon appearing in the top right corner. It wasn't something that I programmed in. It was a small eye and it opened up every time I opened up your application."

"Yes. Sorry. I didn't do anything though! I was just checking to see the status of my application. There wasn't any option to check your application status so I had to enter the system and-"

"You had to _hack_ into the system," Professor Pine corrected. "I also programmed the security and firewalls behind all of The Vird's systems, and you passed through them like they were paper."

"I'm sorry Professor, I just-"

"You are just a genius Copernicus," Professor Pine said impressed. "The things that you could do in the world are almost endless, but they would require you to be behind a computer screen."

"So you think I should join the Tech Program?"

"Yes, you should join the Tech Program. You have amazing potential, and this school can give you the skills to be an unstoppable force... But you want to be a Pokémon Trainer. And I don't exactly understand your reason why, but I felt your resolve in that match against Teal."

"Uh- I don't have anything against Teal."

"It isn't important. I have a proposal for you Copernicus. Finish your four years in the Tech Academy. But every Friday you and I will have personal lessons. And when you graduate you will get a PokeGear and become a Pokémon Trainer. From there, you can forge your own path. Take on the Pokémon League, try to become Champion… Or not."

"I don't know what to say," Copper said, finally able to bring himself to look Professor Pine in the eyes.

"You should say, 'Professor Pine, what Pokémon did Teal choose?'" Professor Pine tossed a Pokeball to Copernicus. "See you Friday."

.

Jade walked out into the front lawn of The Academy. School was out for the day, and all the first years had just received their first Pokémon. It was unseasonably warm for December and Jade could see her classmates sitting with members of their new programs. On the fountain, the students in the Pokémon Breeding Program were brushing the fur of their Pokémon. A Vulpix let out a soft moan as a brush found its way to the middle of her back. A table full of Tech kids were on their laptops showing a group of Business Students the latest in Pokémon Center technology. Jade waved to a group of Ecology students. They were surveying the campus, taking data on the different species of plant and Pokémon.

Merlot was walking with some Upper-classman from the Battle Program. A Bulbasaur was at her feet, growling at the Chansey of a Nursing student as they passed by. Merlot picked her Bulbasaur up, and its tough exterior melted as it closed its eyes and nuzzled into Merlot's neck.

Teal was in a double battle with some members of the Varsity Battle Team. His Squirtle was holding down a Slowbro and a Hitmonchan with a Bubble attack. His teammate took this opportunity to get her Butterfree into position to release a Sleep Powder attack. The two opposing Pokémon became drowsy as Squirtle dropped in on them with a Tackle attack.

"Hey Jade!" Copper crossed the courtyard followed lazily by a floating Magnemite. "Meet my new Pokémon. What Pokémon did you choose? Did you get one of those really rare Pokémon?"

"Hey Copper. Not exactly. Long story." Jade had to cut her conversation with Copper short as she saw Indigo making for the front gate. "Sorry I have to run."

Jade ran and caught Indigo, who was meeting his goons at the gate.

"What do you want?" Clementine said nastily, putting herself between Jade and Indigo. "Haven't you done enough?"

"No! I would never have turned Indigo in. They found out because-"

"Cool it Clem," Indigo stopped his attack dog. "I came clean on my own. Give me a second to talk to Jade alone guys."

Clem and Mag cleared out. Magenta picked up a small Pikachu with spikey hair and propped it on his shoulder. Clementine was followed by a female Nidoran, who butted at her shins as they walked.

"I'm sorry to hear that you are getting expelled," Jade started. "I tried talking to Professor Oak. His mind was made up though. I'll keep trying. Indigo, this isn't fair."

"I messed up Jade. At least they are letting Clem and Mag stay in school."

"Yeah, I heard you took the fall for the whole thing."

Indigo was uncomfortable so he tried to change the subject. "So what powerful and rare Pokémon did you get?"

Jade fumbled into her bag with a wicked smile and pulled out an Old purple Pokeball. "Its dangerous out there. You shouldn't be alone." She tossed the Ultraball to Indigo.

"This is… My Magmar? You wasted your first Pokémon on my Magmar? I can't accept this!"

"Yeah you can. Come on. I'll have plenty of chances to catch other Pokémon. For now, go out there and represent The Vird. And one day we'll have a fair rematch."

Tears erupted out of Indigo's eyes and he went in to hug Jade. "I'll be waiting at the Pokémon League for you."

"Catch you at the Pokémon League Indigo," Jade said still holding Indigo.


	13. Chapter 13

Graduation.

.

Jade shifted uneasily in her cap and gown under the beating sun on the front lawn of school. She rocked on the back two legs of her metal chair as it dug deeper and deeper into the grass. Jade craned her head to see if she could find her parents over the sea of navy blue gowns. One by one, Professors started to take seats on the stage in front of them.

"I can't believe it's been four years already," Copper commented readjusting his tie underneath his gown. "I mean, like we are finally graduating." He looked to Jade fidgeting on his left. She had changed a lot in these years. She had grown into a beautiful young woman, but her inability to sit still hadn't changed. Her pale green hair and wicked smile still remained a staple that reminded Copper of all of the trouble she had gotten him into these past four years.

"And not a moment too late," Jade breathed out frustrated, tapping her Pokedex on her knee. She was anxious to get out into the field and start her Pokémon League adventure. "I swear that if I have to sit through another day of Advanced Battle Techniques-"

Professor Oak took the podium and began the procession. His voice sounded over the surrounding speakers. "First I give you a speech from your Salutatorian; Ceil from the History Class."

A young man with drooping spikey hair and a wrinkled gown stepped forward. Jade remembered Ceil always looking exhausted, having deep bags under his eyes. His voice was slow and sleepy. "Thank you Professor. Congrats everyone. Good luck out there."

Ceil sat down, and the audience wasn't 100% sure he was done with his speech. Oak stood back up and took the podium. "Well, short and sweet. That's how I like my history lessons." He laughed, alone. "And now your Valedictorian; Teal."

The other students went mad with applause and cheers as Teal stood and walked to the podium. He had to wait another minute for his classmates to calm down before he started.

"Thank you all. I'd like to recite a poem for you all. It is called _Hikers Motto_."

"Ugh," Copper scoffed audibly. Jade elbowed him playfully and told him to shush as Teal continued.

"Why do I climb mountains? Because they are there. Because so few dare to meet the challenge. Because only by reaching the top can you see where you stand. Only after reaching the top can you see how high you still have to go. Why do I train Pokémon? Because they are there. Because they too have a desire to prove themselves. Because only through the strength of a Pokémon can I climb to these heights. Only through the eyes of a Pokémon I can see how far _I_ have left to evolve-"

.

.

Jade checked her Pokedex, analyzing the Spearow she just caught. She then switched to the message app to see if Teal had contacted her back. No reply. The last message was still from her to Teal,

"Here at base of plateau. A little early... Gonna catch some Spearow." _Sent 30 minutes ago._

She sat down on a downed tree to wait but looked up as the tall grass before her rustled.

"That is what you are wearing?" Teal laughed as he came into the clearing. Jade was wearing camouflage cargo pants over bulky hiking boots. Her navy Vird blazer was worn over her Battle Techniques gym shirt. A large tan fishing hat covered her green hair. A bright red Magikarp was stitched on her hat, contrasting sharply with the pale frame of her glasses. She adjusted a head torch around her neck as she smiled her amazing toothy smile. And she somehow made it work, in the most adorable way.

She faked a curtsy and laughed. "I know I'm irresistible. Try to compose yourself."

Teal laughed, "We'll call it jungle chic." They were always laughing when they were together.

"What did you want to talk about?" Jade asked.

"Travel with me," Teal blurt out quickly before his confidence escaped. "We can challenge the Pokémon League together! Challenge gyms, explore new regions, capture rare Pokémon-"

"Haha. That sounds really nice," Jade said but her smile didn't reach her eyes the way it usually did.

"But?"

"Teal, you mean the world to me. I used to dream about traveling the world with you. Running with wild Rapidash in the Safari Zone, whizzing down Cycle road, Surfing the Seafoam Islands, or just staying up late talking about nothing."

"That sounds amazing!" Teal replied. His hands were shaking like they never had before.

"But... Teal, every time I have ever gotten into trouble you have been there. Viridian Forest, Freshman showcase, that incident in Fuschia City last year... Ever since our first week of school, no matter how dire a situation I was in, I knew you'd be there to bail me out."

"And you've been there for me," Teal replied quickly. "That's because we make a great team!"

"Yeah, But I want to know what I can do-"

"Without me," Teal said as he dropped his head.

"Not forever. Just for this year. Let me see what I am capable of." Tears started to fill Jade's eyes as she finished speaking.

"Jade," Teal moved closer to her as she started to cry. "I get you. And not forever right? One year?"

Jade wiped her face and a smile returned to her face. "Not even! The Pokémon League tournament is in May."

"And so we'll meet at the Pokémon League," Teal said moving closer to Jade.

"Yeah. You can carry my trophy home for me," Jade said elbowing Teal in the side.

Teal laughed and tears reached his eyes too. He wasn't sure if they were from the laughter. "So, I'll meet you here in... 11 months?"

Jade stared up at the plateau above them. "Yeah. 11 months."

Slowly, they started gravitating towards each other. Tears reached both of their eyes as they realized they wouldn't see each other for almost a year. After being best friends for four years and sharing many special memories, this would be the longest time they had spent apart from each other since they met. Jade didn't realize, but she was holding onto the strings on Teal's sweatshirt. They weren't talking anymore and a million thoughts were racing through their heads, number one being if they should tell each other how they feel.

Teal went back and forth in his brain a dozen times. "Why tell her? She's made up her mind. But what if she wants me to change her mind." It was killing him. She was inches away from his face, her fingers still knotting around the cords of his sweatshirt. He doesn't remember what the eventual trigger was, but he chose this moment to close his eyes and kiss her.

He expected her to back away. He expected her to be surprised and was preparing an excuse or apology. That wasn't necessary. As he tried to pull away, she pulled him back in. She kissed him fiercely, splitting his lips with hers. Teal felt the world spin beneath his feet. They kissed there for a minute. When they came up for air, Teal could barely stand.

"11 months?" Teal breathed out slowly.

"11 months," Jade sighed loudly.

.

.

Jade started to walk back to the Viridian City Pokémon Center. She messaged Copper on her Xtransceiver. "Hey Copper, omw back to PC. Gonna check out a Nido spot on the way. Don't wait up."

About two hours later she arrived at the Pokémon Center excited to share her new Pokédex entries with Copper. But he was nowhere to be found. She checked her messages, but nothing.

"Excuse me. Are you Jade?" A nurse asked. "This package is for you."

Jade opened the package and it was a Pokeball and a letter.

The letter read, "Hey Jade. Sorry I couldn't wait. I liked our plan of traveling to Saffron together, but I had to meet up with a contact in Celadon. Hit me up when you get to Saffron City. – C."

Copper had gotten a job as a software engineer at Silph Co. in Saffron City, but agreed to travel for a few months with Jade before starting his new position. Jade guessed that something important came up.

Jade checked the Pokeball with her Pokedex. It was a Ponyta and it was registered to her. But it wasn't any regular Ponyta. It was the Ponyta Jade rode in Viridian City four years ago. "Oh Copper, I wish you said bye."

And now she was officially alone. The Center would be serving dinner soon, but Jade wasn't hungry. The sun was just starting to set behind the plateau. She thought of Teal and wondered where he was now.

She ran outside and smelled the summer night air. She smelled adventure. And she ran! She ran north and reached into her bag for a large diamond shaped item. She pressed a button and the collapsible bike opened up. She swung one leg over the bright blue bike and started to ride into the Viridian forest. The last of the sunlight started to fade as she reached the part of the forest where Old growth Oak trees were replaced by New Growth Hickory and White Ash trees. A pair of Pidgey flew out of her way as she rounded a sharp corner on the trail. She knew she would have to backtrack. There were so many Pokémon that she missed. She'd shake trees for Weedle and Caterpie. She'd stand up to the gusts of Pidgeotto's. She would follow charred berries to a Pikachu nest. But right now, she was on a mission. Pecha berries were on both sides of her now and the tree line had been different for a few miles.

She stopped to catch her breath. Her opponent didn't let her. Pinsir exploded out of the brush with a hissing snarl. She jumped to the side and rolled. She got her feet beneath her in time to see her bike being crushed in its powerful claws. She turned her hat backward and pulled out a Pokeball.

"Sorry I took so long."


End file.
